


Phantom of the Chamber (A Danny Phantom X Harry Potter Crossover)

by HermitCap



Category: Danny Phantom, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 2nd Year, AU, Angst, Crossover, Fantasy, Friendship, Gen, Hogwarts, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Phantom - Freeform, chamber - Freeform, dark themes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-12
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2018-09-23 20:51:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 54,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9676226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HermitCap/pseuds/HermitCap
Summary: AU: Orphaned from a lab accident when he was 10, Danny Fenton was taken in by Vlad Masters. Two years later during an attack by Death Eaters, Danny miraculously survives with the discovery of a new ghost power...no, accidental magic, bringing his identity as a halfa to the attention of the Headmaster of Hogwarts and the Dark Lord. Professor Dumbledore sent for him to enroll at Hogwarts as a 2nd year for his safety, where Danny must learn to balance his half-life secret with his magical studies. (During 2nd year) Warning: May contain slight OOC and dark themes





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note:
> 
> Hello everyone, before we begin with this story there are some things I need to cover first (if you plan on reading the author note instead of skipping straight to the story). First of all, I do not own Danny Phantom or Harry Potter (all characters belong to Butch Hartman and J.K. Rowling), this is just something fun I decided to try in honor of my favorite cartoon and book.
> 
> Second, this is my first fanfic, so if you really don’t like it, you don’t need to read it. I apologize beforehand hand for any grammar mistakes or badly written paragraphs. I struggle with English, so this is a form of practice for my writing style. Feel free to inform me of any errors that you spot and I will do my best to fix them. I'm open to answer any questions or criticism (as long as it is constructive and not a blatant rant of hate) you may have to this story, so no flames, please.
> 
> I also won't establish a regular updating schedule that I will most likely not keep up with. I am still in high school so my schoolwork and grades will have to take priority over this. I'm sorry, but this is a hobby and I still want to graduate with a good GPA and enroll in college.
> 
> Lastly, this story is an AU so Danny's backstory is different from the series and takes place during Harry's second year at Hogwarts. So if this is a problem, then this story is not for you. I am proud to say that I am finished with the outline for this story so I do have an idea of where the plot is headed. The chapters won't be consistent in length because I am going to end it where I think it is a good break or transition. Thank you for listening and now for the story...

Prologue:

Every resident of Amity Park knew of the dark-haired boy who was the son of two Ghost Hunters.

Jack and Maddie Fenton were known as the town's crazies. The strange couple's life work focused on anything with an ectoplasmic nature. They used their scientific brilliance to build poorly named inventions (usually following the theme of incorporating "Fenton" somewhere in the object's name) for hunting ghosts and transformed their basement into a laboratory.

Jack Fenton was a man with bright blue eyes, dark hair, and a large bulky build (probably due to the excess amount of ham and fudge in his diet). His sheer size and his oblivious intrusion into personal space can be intimidating, but he was more like that of a loyal dog who would follow close behind his favorite person. Jack's family will describe him to anyone new that he was "as harmless as a teddy bear".

He may appear overbearing since his overly friendly attitude made him quick to "blather on about ghosts" to anyone willing to listen. Eventually, several hours would have passed before he was done talking about his favorite topic to the unwilling party. This was why the jubilant man had little to no friends, he always seemed to find a way to make them uncomfortable with his company and scared them away (probably from his attempt to show off his newly developed ghost hunting weapon).

Jack was never seen outside without sporting his trademark bright orange jumpsuit. Clueless to fashion sense, he only cared for the functionality of the clothing so that he would always be prepared for when ghosts attack. He had a knack to pull out large weapons from seeming nowhere, no one had any clue on how he managed to conceal the _Fenton Bazooka_ on his person. Rather than subtle, he stood out like a sore thumb within a crowd.

Maddie Fenton was a beautiful woman with striking auburn hair that came down to her shoulder and lavender eyes. Similar to Jack, she wore a cyan rubber jumpsuit that hugged her body with red-lens goggles. She had a well-proportioned build due to her proficiency in the martial arts as a ninth-degree black belt.

Combined with her athletic talent, Maddie also was a technical whiz and an intelligent scientist. Granted, she had a habit of leaving her ectoplasmic samples out in the kitchen, which caused some of the food she cooks to come alive from the cross-contamination.

Despite how unusual the couple was, there was no doubt that they were made for each other. Although Jack means well, his clumsy nature tended to make a mess of things. It was up to Maddie's capable hands to fix their broken inventions and correct her husband's mistakes. While her husband created new mechanical tools from his plethora of ideas, she would guide him to sort out which of his ideas were practical or useless. Together with Jack's enthusiasm and Maddie's rational guiding hand they were able to successfully make any inventions they put their minds to.

Aside from their obsession with their work, the Fentons were the loving parents of two beautiful children.

Their older daughter, Jasmine, who preferred to go by the name Jazz, resembled closely to her mother with her long auburn hair that came down to her waist but she still had her dad's eyes. She was a bright-minded child for her age. She spent most of her time studying and preparing early for her future in a career as a psychiatrist. She was a good listener and was private with the secrets that were told to her. Due to her trustworthy, loyal nature, many classmates confided with her on their problems for her advice.

She was a supportive older sister and looked out for her little brother. She defended him whenever he was bullied. Even with her teasing and constant nagging about whether he got his homework done, her brother knew that she loved him and that she was only in his case because she cared for his well-being.

Now the boy was a particular lad. He was fairly average in looks with a thin, lanky build; typical for a growing boy who had not quite hit his growth spurt yet. What stood out the most was his startling icy blue eyes, capable of captivating onlookers to his gaze.

He had an easy-going, laid-back attitude. Despite being fairly smart, he tended to slack off on his school work and was frequently caught snoozing in class from his late-night gaming. He preferred the notion to enjoy his childhood to the fullest while he had the chance and would push his homework off till the last minute to play video games or hang out with friends. Much to his sister's annoyance, she would frequently catch him scrambling to finish his work the morning it was due.

His clever remarks and cheeky attitude had dragged him into many unnecessary conflicts with the higher authorities, but he never got into too much trouble getting off with a small warning. He had tried to join the school's A-list (the popular clique) but after several miserably failed attempts, he was labeled as the school geek. Outcasted by his classmates, he didn't have many friends, only Samantha ("Sam" which she preferred to be called) Manson, self-proclaimed Goth and Ultra-recyclo Vegetarian, and Tucker Foley, the African- American Techno Geek.

The boy had a strong sense of justice, uncommon for teens nowadays. Whenever he caught a student being extorted for money or shoved into a locker, he would not stand aside and be a spectator. He was always quick to intervene, putting himself between the victim and the bully. The boy's defiant gaze igniting the jock's ire, successfully redirecting the fury of the wrath unto himself. Even with his body battered, the boy refused to retaliate at the hits that were dished out to him. His selfless brave acts caused the nerds of the school to look up to him and regard him as a hero.

That was the boy from 2 years ago.

Now it was as though he was a completely different person. A former shade of the kind, cheerful, and bubbly boy. His once bright eyes now dimmed of life and his smiles no longer graced his face. Bitter and withdrawn, he pushed away company, preferring to be left alone to his thoughts. He no longer intervened in the school fights, not wanting to be involved and draw attention to himself.

Though all it did was catch the eye of Dash Baxter, the school star football player, leader of the A-list, and top bully. As if sensing the boy's weakness, Dash declared the boy as his new personal punching bag.

To the surrounding student's surprise, the once proud boy did nothing to deny it. The boy just turned the other cheek for the bully to punch, as if willing accepting each punishment dished out to him as something he deserved. Any pain was welcomed rather than feeling the numb void of empty loss. But who could blame him, anyone would change after that tragic accident...  



	2. Anniversary

The late July breeze ruffled the messy raven locks of the young twelve-year-old boy. As his bangs lightly tickled his ice blue eyes, the boy briskly combed his fingers back through his hair in a vain attempt to tame the uncontrollable bird nest. Cold, empty eyes set in a permanent glare and expression similar to that of a stony wall, the look was perfected from practiced use. His confident strides was focused solely on his destination. He was undeterred by the surrounding stores with stocks full of tempting games, clothing, and toys; items that would catch the attention of any other teen. The boy's demeanor effectively warded off any attempt of friendly conversation.

The crowd of shoppers recognized the well-dressed boy walking with purpose and they quickly moved aside to make way for him. The boy was indifferent to the occasional looks of pity shot his way. Catching sight of the store of interest, he quickened his pace and roughly pulled open the door.

The bell chimed as the boy entered the shop, alerting the storekeeper of his presence. The man at the front casually looked up from his newspaper with disinterest, sneaking a small glance at the potential customer. The man's eyes crinkled as a small smile played across his face when he recognized the child.

"Ah Danny, you're here early today!" the man greeted.

"Good morning Mr. Abernathy." Danny politely answered, the boy had his hands clasped behind his back with his head tilted slightly up. The boy radiated an air of guarded confidence.

"Has it already been a year since I last saw you. It feels like yesterday since you first came to my shop 2 years ago. You are doing well, I hope?"

"I'm fine." Danny curtly replied, not delving into details.

Mr. Abernathy grew silent for a brief moment, saddened that the boy still hasn't opened up to him. Looking back at Danny, the man sighed, knowing that the boy still needed more time to recover from the emotional scars and pain that he carried. All the man could do was hope that the poor boy would someday move on from that incident and pick up the broken pieces of his life to find his happiness again.

Walking out from behind the counter, Mr. Abernathy walked over to the rows of colorful bins. Knowing exactly which bin to go for, he turned his back on the boy, reaching a hand into the container.

"You want the usual, I suppose?"

"Yes, sir."

Mr. Abernathy quickly picked 5 pristine stalks from the bin. Expertly trimming the ends, he carried the bundle to the counter. He then proceeded to roll the fragile goods with crisp white paper. After inspecting the quality of his work and nodding his approval, he handed the bouquet of white lilies to the boy. "Here you go."

Danny delicately took the flowers from the man and paid him with the money he owed. After a brief exchange of goodbyes, Danny placed a hand on the door, the other firmly gripping the lilies to his chest.

A wisp of cold air escaped from the raven-haired boy's breath. The boy closed his eyes and let out a slow sigh. Scrunching eyebrows in annoyance, he turned back to the man.

"Mr. Abernathy, do you mind doing me a favor?" Mr. Abernathy looked up, briefly confused on why the teen had not left in a hurry like he usually did.

"I have some business that I need to attend to. Do you mind holding onto this for me?" Danny walks up to the counter and holds out the precious bundle.

"No problem." Mr. Abernathy takes the flowers from him, "Why the sudden rush? Is everything ok?"

"Everything's fine, just remembered some "annoyances" that I need to take care of beforehand. It shouldn't take too long." Danny replied vaguely, he gave a small reassuring smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

The man frowned, shrugging his shoulders, "Alright then, go on and do your thing, whatever you teenagers do. Don't worry, I will keep these safe for you for when you return."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it." The older man shooed the child out the door.

**-PotC-**

Danny sped through the street, past shops, and narrowly missed colliding into a large man. Danny shouted back a quick "sorry" and the man returned a glare, muttering crossly about bad parenting.

Another chilling smoke left Danny's mouth, the cold was significantly stronger than before, signifying the closer range of his target. The blue wisps of smoke were his Ghost Sense, alerting him whenever there were ghosts near. Slowing down his pace, he scanned his surroundings. Spotting an isolated alley, Danny quickly ducked in and dumped his bag next to the trash can.

Certain that there were no one around to see him, Danny closed his eyes and concentrated. He mentally reached for the ghostly core inside of him, he pulled it forward and a chill spread through him. Two white rings of light surfaced on his waist and silently traveled across his body. The lower ring went down while the top ring transversed his upper body. Danny underwent a transformation when the light passed. His heart stopped beating and he no longer needed to breathe. His body no longer pumped blood which was replaced with the toxic green of ectoplasm and he no longer had any of his organs and bones. Effectively "killing himself", Danny was now an ectoplasmic entity, a being composed entirely of ectoplasm. A ghost.

His appearance also underwent changes. His former attire was replaced with a black jumpsuit accented by white gloves, boots, belt, and collar. His chest bore a stylized _DP_ , signifying him as his ghostly persona, Danny Phantom. His tight fitting suit effectively showed what his usual clothes had hidden. His deceiving skinny build was, in fact, well-built with lean, toned muscle molded from the constant exposure to battle. The most notable change was that his blue eyes were replaced with glowing neon green and his raven hair was now snow white. His pale skin was now tan, making his hair more prominent. As Phantom, Danny had a more humanoid appearance than that of other ghosts. If it weren't for the slight echo in his voice and the eerie glow that he gave off, he would be easily mistaken as a teenage boy with dyed hair. This can be accredited to the fact that Danny is half ghost or a "halfa" as most ghosts tended to call him. Not quite dead but not fully living, a being that should not exist. He wasn't born a halfa, it was a side-effect from the lab accident that occurred two years ago.

Now as Danny Phantom, he hovered off the ground. Floating toward his bag, he turned his hand intangible and reached in. Grasping the cylindrical container (also turning it intangible) he pulled it out of the bag. The item he held was a metallic soup thermos. The _Fenton Thermos_ , against all appearances, is a handy ghost hunting device that his parents had invented. Capable of capturing a ghost by sucking it into the small, compact container. After several encounters with unfriendly ghosts, Danny now never left home without it.

Changing his legs into a spectral tail, the halfa flew out of the alleyway back into the busy streets. Fangirls squealed and children looked up in awe as they recognized the town protector known to the public as Danny Phantom. A police officer tipped his hat to him as he flew passed.

A woman grabbed her child close to her and spat at Phantom to keep away from her child. _Well, you can't please everyone._ When Danny first started his secret side life, the people didn't know what to think of the alleged vigilante. Even though he was a ghost, he protected the citizens from the other specters' onslaught. The media had called him "Inviso-Bill" before they managed to learn that he went by Danny Phantom.

In the beginning, the Amity Park residents were split on whether they viewed him as a "good hero" or a "menace to society". The children and teenagers saw him as a superhero who risked his afterlife to save them, while the adults could only see a nuisance who caused more damage than help from the constant destruction of property he left from the aftermath of his fights.

For a while, he was labeled "Public Enemy Number One" when a ghost named Walker, framed Phantom for the kidnapping of the mayor. The warden ghost ran a large prison in the ghost zone (the place where the dead spent their afterlife) and had once arrested Phantom. The halfa had organized a riot and managed to escape with all the prisoners. Walker wanted vengeance against Phantom for the prison break and tried to make Amity Park a prison for the halfa by using his minions to overshadow the citizens. Walker overshadowed the mayor and although he was defeated, he still managed to damage Danny's reputation making it appear to the public that Danny Phantom had kidnapped the mayor.

It wasn't until Danny defeated the ghost king, Pariah Dark, did his image finally began to change for the better. The evil ghost king had led a huge invasion of skeletal ghost army into Amity Park. Danny made a truce with his ghostly enemies and united the ghosts to fight against Pariah. With the ghost king's defeat, the townspeople recognized Danny Phantom as the hero of Amity Park. No longer "Public Enemy Number One" he had an approval rating of 64%. Granted the truce with his enemies didn't last and he was back to the regular daily battles with the ghosts that came to cause trouble to society or simply torment him to blow off steam.

Danny touched down at the park before he could react to what set off his Ghost Sense, a pair of slender green hands covered his eyes.

"Guess who?" The female voice playfully asked from behind him.

Danny relaxed as he recognized the owner of the voice, he diminished the green ectoblast that he was forming in his hand to shoot at the surprise entity.

"Kitty, what are you doing here? You know you're not supposed to be in the human realm." He turned to face the female ghost.

Kitty was a red-eyed ghost with shoulder length green hair. She wore a black tank top, red leather jacket, red mini skirt, and green leggings. She died in the 80's with her boyfriend in a motorcycle accident. Kitty and her boyfriend, Johnny 13, were Danny's enemies in the beginning. After Kitty had a fight with Johnny and she overshadowed the prettiest girl in Danny's school to date Danny and make Johnny jealous. When Danny caught on to her act, Danny secretly worked with Johnny to bring the couple back together again. Now Danny was on friendly grounds with the two ghosts.

"Boo, you're such a stick in the mud, Phantom." Kitty pouted as she stuck her tongue at him. "And no, I'm not here to mess with your town. I need you to hide me."

"What, you had another spat with Johnny? You know I'm busy and I don't have the time to mediate your lover's quarrel all the time." Danny frowned, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"But Johnny was being such a big jerk. We were on a date here in the land of the living. It was supposed to be special, just the two of us. Then that stupid wishing ghost, Desiree, had to show up and ruin everything! Johnny, he...he wouldn't stop ogling her breasts!" She burst out into tears. "I mean who does that? We were on a date! He's supposed to be only looking at me. What if he is cheating on me?" She sniffled and fat beads of tears rolled down her cheeks.

Danny put his arms around the crying girl in an attempt to comfort her. "Well Johnny, he's- well -a guy. And guys can't help but stare at things like that. Heck, I probably would too. Johnny is just thick-headed to not know that it hurt you, but that doesn't mean he is cheating on you. He still loves you, didn't he tell you that you mean the world to him? Just tell him how you felt and ask him before you assume that he is cheating."

Kitty nodded her head but whimpered, "I know, but that wasn't even the worst part…" She started bawling again, then she angrily exclaimed, "Johnny he-" The familiar roar of a motorcycle caught her attention. "Crap, he's here. Hide me!" She quickly ducked behind Danny's back as Johnny 13 approached on his trusted black motorcycle.

"Johnny 13, what can I do for you?" Danny levelly eyed the blond ghost. The ghost had green eyes and gray acne covered skin. He looked like an older teen with his bad-boy biker look. Johnny 13 had the power to cause bad luck with his shadow that he controlled.

"Cut the act, Phantom. I know Kitty is with you. Just give her up and I will leave." Johnny revved the engine to intimidate Danny. The halfa refused to move and assumed a fighting stance.

"Fine then, we'll do this the hard way. Shadow." A black form with menacing emerald eyes materialized out from Johnny. It bared its teeth in a growl and a clawed hand swiped at Danny.

Danny charged his energy into a ball and threw it at Shadow, blasting it into Johnny and throwing him off his bike. Johnny picked himself off the ground and wiped the ectoplasm dripping from his nose. Before he could retaliate, Kitty was between him and Danny.

"Stop this! It's not Phantom's fault! I asked him to help me."

"Babe, why did you storm out from our date? Why do you need Phantom, did I do something to upset you?"

"Of course it's your fault that our date is ruined!"

"What? Just because I'm dating you doesn't mean I can't look at other girls."

"I'm not mad about that, it's what you didn't do!" Kitty threw up her hands in a show of disgust.

"Just what did I not do?" asked Johnny, genuinely confused.

"You seriously don't remember what today is?" Tears threatened to spill from her eyes again.

"What's so special about today?" Johnny demanded completely clueless.

Wrong answer.

"I can't believe you!" Kitty screamed in frustration. She turned her back on Johnny and stomped over to Danny. "Can you do me the honors?" She asked Danny, her voice dangerously low.

Danny sighed, knowing that it was useless to refuse her. He took out the thermos and faced it at Johnny. "Sorry man. Try and reflect on what you done." Danny pushed the button and blinding light reached towards the biker, sucking him into the container.

"Noooo!" The ghost screamed as his body was stretched and distorted to fit into the compact thermos. The wind tugged at Kitty threatening to suck her in too, but Danny made sure to keep her behind him. Danny capped the lid on the device.

Danny walked back to the female ghost, "You okay?"

She cast her eyes down, "I've been better. I'm just upset that he forgot. Today was an important day for the two of us...Today is our Deathday. I'm sorry for dragging you into this."

"It's OK, I understand. I'm sorry about Johnny and happy Deathday."

Kitty returned a smile, "Thanks...Danny. I'm going to head back and discuss with Ember on how to punish Johnny. Do you mind sending Johnny back to the ghost zone later today?" Danny felt a twinge of sympathy for Johnny as he imagined the punishment that the girls had in store.

"No problem, I will do that."

Kitty gave him a small hug, "And I want to say my condolences, I know what today means to you. Feel free to come to me if you ever want to talk about it. You helped me a lot with my relationship troubles." Kitty flew off with a wave of goodbye.

Danny returned to the alley and grabbed his bag. Changing back to is human side as Danny Fenton, he raced back to the flower shop to retrieve his item. After a brief exchange of pleasantries and another goodbye, Danny headed to his next destination.

The teen made his way to the Amity Park Cemetery. He brushed off the wrinkles in his suit as he walked to the center of the cemetery where a large marble statue stood. Danny's mask of confidence shattered, revealing a timid, insecure boy wrecked with grief.

The memorial statue had the bust of a man and a woman with three teenagers. A boy and two girls. Danny placed the lilies by the plaque. The five names were engraved on it with the description: _Gone but not Forgotten._

"I'm back guys. Miss me much?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, finally done with the first chapter. I don't know if the other chapters will be as long as this one. I hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I have.
> 
> (last edited: 12/30/16)


	3. Gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before we begin with the next chapter, I want to clear some confusion. This is an AU (Alternate Universe) so Danny's family and friends died when he got his powers. Danny is not as strong as he is in the TV series. This because he is 12 and is still learning to use his powers (He only knows how to use the basic powers so far), but don't worry he will learn the rest as the story progresses. Also, this was probably one of the hardest chapters I have ever written. I apologize beforehand for the long dialogue, but I thought it necessary. Now with that out of the way, enjoy!

"Hey Mom, Dad, Jazz, Sam, and Tuck. It's been 2 years since you left and a year since I last visited. I'm sorry I wasn't able to come back as frequently as I used to, I have been busy lately." Danny awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.

"So… I don't know if I'm doing this right but Vlad told me I should try talking to you guys this time…Supposedly it's going to make me 'feel better'." Danny scrunched his fingers in mock air-quotes, "I think that's just a load of bull. I bet Vlad is just tired of seeing me wallow in despair." He gave a small chuckle, "I guess the Cheesehead can be thoughtful sometimes… He even let me come alone to give me some privacy."

Danny took a deep breath, "Well, I still can't stop missing you guys. No matter how much time passes, it still hurts… Dad, I want to go fishing with you again, I would even listen to you blather on about ghosts. Mom, I miss the cookies you would make (even if they did come alive occasionally) and I sometimes imagine you in the kitchen welcoming me home from school." His throat caught but he continued on, "I used to be embarrassed whenever you would hug and kiss me... but I never really hated it. I would give anything to feel your embrace again…"

"Jazz, I never did get the chance to tell you 'Thanks for watching my back.' Yeah, you can be annoying sometimes with your over-protectiveness but I knew you really cared. You would have had a ball if you were to psychoanalyze me now. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I want you to if it meant I could hear you again."

"Tuck, my man, it's not the same without you. I miss seeing you on your PDA typing away madly or spouting lame one-liners to get girls… even the corny jokes you cracked to get my mind off things. Remember the time you tried to be my wingman but instead scared all the girls away with that foul smelling cologne you made. Will you believe me if I told you that Valerie liked you. Yeah, that Valerie. She really got hit hard with your death."

"Sam…I don't know if you knew but I kind of had a crush on you. I can't believe how clueless I was to not know what I had until the day I lost you. You weren't like the other shallow girls who only cared about their looks. Instead, you hid the fact that your family was rich so that you wouldn't be included with the petty A-list. You'd rather see how people really thought of you than the false flattery for your money. You were headstrong and were never afraid to fight for what you believed in. You had such a big heart and cared about all life, no matter what they were. That was the reason you became a vegetarian. I still remember how you freed the class pet to return it to the wild. When adults would try and push their views on you, you were never afraid to rebel against them. You shocked your parents when you became Goth to demonstrate your defiance to them. You were a strong, independent rebel, never afraid to stand for what's right. You were the one who gave me the idea to fight and I hope you are proud of what I do now…"

"Dad, mom, do you remember the Ghost Portal you were working on...the one that was supposed to punch a hole into the ghost zone and open a doorway between the land of the living and dead. It was my fault that it exploded and k-killed you... I should have listened to you when you told me not to enter the lab, that it was dangerous!"

A sob rose in the frail boy's throat and he struggled to continue, "I-If it wasn't for me, all of you will still be alive! I-I'm so sorry! I would do anything to be able to take it all back!" The boy collapsed to the ground and pulled his knees to his chest, tears streamed down as the sobs racked his body, making the child appear small and fragile.

Voice now a soft whisper, the boy continued on, "You guys must hate me now... I stole your happiness, your future, and I didn't even get to die with you. I hate how I was the only survivor and even though I wished I died fully then too, I hate the small cowardly part of me that still wants to live… The accident only half killed me and gave me ghost powers. I'm now Half Human- Half Ghost, a Halfa... a mutant. Vlad says it's a gift but I think it's a curse, a punishment for me to pay for my crimes." Danny sniffed and wiped the tears from his eyes.

"I had a hard time at first with my powers. I was so scared and confused. I wasn't use to them and had so many close calls blowing my secret." Danny paused, thinking back to those times, "It was kind of sad actually, Tucker you would have thought it hilarious. You won't believe a number of times I accidentally phased below floors or through walls. My pants phased off at school once and the A-list laughed at me... Certain parts of my body would spontaneously turn intangible, I dropped so many beakers that the school permanently banned me from handling any lab equipment… Now I know how to handle my powers properly. I can turn intangible, fire ecto-beams, form shields, fly, and even turn invisible. No Tucker, I know what you want to ask, I haven't used my powers to peek into the girl's locker room. So Sam and Jazz, you don't need to worry...yet. Anyway, I mentioned that I have been busy recently but that's because I found a good use for my powers."

"Ever since the portal exploded, it caused a rift between the ghost zone and the human realm. The natural boundary between the two worlds weakened causing more natural portals to form frequently. An increasing number of ghosts have been appearing in Amity Park to cause trouble or wreak havoc. So yeah, I have been using my ghost powers to stop them. I guess I made it my job to protect the people from the ghosts. Vlad says what I do is reckless and stupid, that I'm blaming myself for your death with my so-called "Hero-complex". I can't say he's too far from the truth, ghost hunting is my pathetic, sad attempt at redemption."

"Dad, you can say that I am a ghost hunter now. I made lots of enemies among the ghosts by trying to stop their plans for world domination, while other ghosts are just annoyances that like to spar with me to relieve their boredom and stress. Granted not all ghost are bad, though, I made some ghostly friends and allies, like Wulf, Cujo, and Princess Dora. I also met Johnny 13 and Kitty today. Rather than friends, I feel like their relationship counselor."

"For a while, Amity Park hated me, calling me a dangerous menace to society. Now the people call me brave and praise me as a hero. If only they knew the truth… I'm not courageous, the only reason I was able to do all those things was because my ghost half numbs my emotions...You can't have courage if you don't feel fear." Danny shook his head bitterly.

"I sometimes wonder what you would have thought of my powers if you were still alive when I got them. As ghost hunters, would you have chased me around trying to capture me so that you could rip me apart molecule by molecule, or would you still accept me as your son, despite me being part ghost." Danny finally stands back up. He rubbed the evidence of tears from his eyes and brushes off the dirt on his clothes from when he sat down on the ground.

"I'm living with Vlad Masters now, remember him? He was mom and dad's friend from college. He took me in when he found out I had no other close relatives. We butt heads a lot, in the beginning, I wasn't being fair to him by purposefully making things difficult. I didn't know who he was since I never met him before and he took me from my home and force me to live with him. My first impression of him wasn't good, he was strict, uptight, and bossy. I didn't think he could possibly understand what I was feeling, but then I found out that he was part ghost too. Remember how you told me that you lost contact with him when he got ecto-acne from one of your experiments? Well that was what turned him into a halfa. Once I realized that he was the only other half-ghost in existence, and the only one who could possibly connect with the confusion and fear that I felt over the strange powers and changes that happened to me, I learned to accept his help. Vlad was the one who taught me to control my powers and trained me to fight. Vlad was against me ghost hunting but after some close shaves, he now decided it was better for me to be prepared. He requires me to carry this bag full of ghost hunting equipment with me at all times (which is a pain)."

"I also wasn't the only one that suffered the loss of a loved one. Vlad lost his 2 best friends that day, and Mom, you probably didn't know but he really did love you. He was head over heels for you but he never got the chance to confess to you because he was hospitalized from the ecto-acne and when he was released, you and dad were already married. Surprise huh? He didn't tell me this until a couple days ago."

"Sam and Tuck, if you're wondering, school isn't going well with me anymore. Vlad tells me to move on and go make some new friends, but I can't! What if they discover my secret, what if they don't accept me for the way I am? What if, in the small chance that they do accept me, a ghost decides to target them to get to me? I won't be able to live with myself if they were hurt because of me. Also, I don't even want to try meeting a good friend. It's like I would be replacing you guys and I can't do that, especially after what I did to you. I can't start over new and forget that this never happened. That would mean betraying you. I just...I just don't know what to do anymore…" Danny grew quiet after this revelation, after a moment, he looked back up at the statue of his friends and family. "I should head back now. It's getting late and Vlad will worry." Turning one final sad look to the figures, Danny walked out of the cemetery.

As Danny left the cemetery he promptly slipped back on his mask, not revealing any indication of his previous outburst of waterworks. He reverted back to his previous posture grabbing his hands behind his back as he strolled out, the one that Vlad taught him. It was his shield, hiding away any sign of weakness with a false show of dignity and pride. Little did he know that this will be his final visit and that he will never be able to return again...

**-PotC-**

Even though his talk at cemetery should have helped with his grief, it only seemed to dampen Danny's spirit. He headed home to Vlad's mansion. Vlad was a rich billionaire who originally owned a large estate in Madison, Wisconsin. When Danny had adamantly refused to move to Wisconsin with the man, wanting to stay in his hometown, Vlad built another home in Amity Park. In no time, Vlad amassed enough political power to become the mayor of Amity Park. The previous mayor had retired, due to being sick of the stress of ghostly attacks on the town and the attempt of Phantom to kidnap him.

Danny slowly trudged back to Vlad's place, wanting to have time to recollect his thoughts and put his feelings in order before he met with the man. He refused to show his sadness to anyone, showing weakness only gave others the upper hand over him.

The sky was an array of violet and orange when the cold blue escaped from Danny's mouth.

"Aww, come on! Not again!" Danny grumbled as he changed into Phantom.

"Why hello, Danny." A dark seductive voice called, Danny turned towards the voice and was met with a black ghost with green eyes and flaming hair. Danny inwardly groaned as he recognized her. She was his least favorite ghost to deal with because his mood was always soured by the time she left. Spectra was a ghost who obsessed with her beauty, she had the sick ability to feed on the misery of others to keep her young. She could also disguise herself as a human, allowing her to blend in with the living over a long period of time.

"What do you want, Spectra?" Danny demanded, his accusation was laced with venom knowing that she wasn't here for anything good.

"I'm hurt." Spectra gave a fake gasp as she puts a hand to her chest in mock innocence. "Can't I visit my favorite boy...or should I say meal. You're like a walking spa treatment, made to make me fabulous! When I'm done with you... you will be begging me to kill you." Spectra lunged towards Danny, trying to grasp him. Danny already saw her coming and skillfully dodged her.

"Don't you have anything better to do? I heard you got a job as a counselor, I find the irony in that humorous." He yawned tiredly, all the while effortlessly avoiding her attacks. He would hate to have her as his school counselor. She would have a ball feeding on the teen misery at his school, making the student's insecurities grow and fester like an infected wound.

"I don't need an excuse to visit you, Danny." Spectra cooed, "You are one of the best source of teen misery that I have seen in ages. You are like a fountain of bottled up despair, simply delicious. If you want a reason, let's just say a little birdy told me a juicy rumor. So I came to pay you a little visit." She taunted, her lips curved upward in triumph when she knew she got his attention.

"What did you hear?" Danny paused in his flight, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. No longer amused by her attempts to degrade him.

"That you are ripe for the picking today since it was this very day that your most important people died in the most tragic way possible… They were murdered by you! By Danny Fenton, their very own son, brother, and friend."

"That's not true! It was an a-" Too late, Danny had taken the bait and let down his guard. Spectra quickly acted on the opportunity to grab him into a chokehold.

"An accident? Oh sure, blame it on an accident. It doesn't change the fact that your curiosity is what caused the portal to explode. Not only did you kill them, the explosion turned you into a...what do you call it? Yes, a halfa...But I think it's more along the lines of Freak-of-Nature." She whispered the vile word into the boy's ear.

"I'm not a freak!" The halfa spat back, "Vlad told me-"

"What? Because you have creepy little powers, that somehow makes you special. That doesn't change what you are. A monster. Your whole existence is a danger to society. Who knows when you will kill someone else with your actions. You go tell yourself that it was an accident if it makes you sleep better at night, but it doesn't change the hard, cold fact that you killed them. I heard what you said at the cemetery. That you hope that your parents will accept you if they were alive because you use your powers for good? I hate to break it to you, but your parents are ghost hunters. What was that word your dad use to say… **Ectoplasmic scum**. Even if they don't blast you on sight, they will dissect you to examine your corpse." She sneered.

"Shut up! I'm done with you constantly picking at my emotions. Let go!" Danny struggled to pull free from her hold.

"Why would I let go? Your doubt, pain, and despair are _exquisite_." Spectra took pleasure in absorbing the dark emotions rolling out of the boy in waves. She dug her nails into him and Danny screamed out in pain. Paying no mind to the boy's discomfort, she took her time partaking in his pent-up hurt and sadness. The vindictive ghost was glad she chose to ambush Phantom today, with his grief laid bare, he was vulnerable.

Danny felt his energy weaken as the black ghost drained him. Her hold on him strengthened as she gained more power from absorbing him. Danny looked up at her and his anger flared. She was enjoying this! How dare the leech play with his grief. Letting out a roar of rage, Danny tore out of her grasp. Spectra shrieked in surprise as her nails ripped through Danny's shoulder. Danny hissed in pain but ignored the green blood flowing freely from the gouged wound. Raising his feet up, he gave her a strong roundhouse kick to the head. As Spectra tumbled through the air, Danny threw green ectoblasts her way. Spectra gave a shrill screech of fury as a blast caught her in the abdomen. Danny's green eyes glowed blue as he attacked her before she could retaliate.

"What the-" Danny exclaimed in confusion, rather than the green blast he expected, a blue beam shot out of his fingertip, encasing Spectra into a block of ice. The frozen ghost dropped out of the sky and landed with a resounding 'thump'. Judging it safe, Danny landed next to the immobilized ghost. "Strange…" Danny knocked on the ice, "I wonder if this is a new power. Better ask Vlad when I get back."

Thanking his lucky stars, Danny quickly sucked Spectra into the thermos, giving Johnny (who already occupied the cramp container) company. Danny mentally reached for his warm center, and the two familiar rings appeared turning the ghost-boy human. When the cool ring passed his shoulder, the blood changed from the glowing green to dark red with the occasional specks of ectoplasm. If a doctor were to examine his blood, it would be a dead (excuse the pun) giveaway that the boy was not entirely human. As he stuffed the thermos back into his bag, he was drenched as a car sped past. Danny coughed and spluttered as some of the mud water got in his mouth. As he shook the offensive liquid from his arms, he inspected the extent of the damage done to his dress clothes. Other than the mud stains, his blood had also seeped through the fabric. "Great, Vlad is going to kill me…"


	4. Vlad

When Danny returns to the mansion, he is first greeted by the butler, Ferdinand.

"Welcome back, young master. May I take your coat from you?"

"Uh, sure." Danny awkwardly answered back. He still wasn't used to the title that the servants in the mansion called him. When Danny tried to ask them to just call him 'Danny', Vlad forbade the servants to call him anything but 'Young master'. Vlad was a stickler to formalities and he himself liked to call Danny 'Daniel', even when he knew full well how much Danny hated people calling him by that. Danny handed the butler his coat. The man raised an eyebrow at the drenched jacket covered in mud and blood stains.

Ferdinand crinkled his nose disdainfully. "I will get a maid to clean this."

"Yes please, can you also keep this between us? I don't need Vlad to know-"

"You don't need me to know what?" Danny visibly cringed. Leave it to Vlad to have supernatural hearing. Vlad was a man in his 40's with his long silver hair (a side-effect from the ecto-acne) pulled back into a ponytail, he also sported a similar color goatee. He had midnight blue eyes capable of intimidating anyone, Vlad carried himself with the influential air of a successful business tycoon.

Vlad immediately zeroed-in on Danny's shoulder and the damage done to his jacket. Vlad pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long sigh. "Another fight Daniel? Did I not ask you to refrain from fighting ghosts today?"

"It's not my fault! Spectr-"

"How many times must you injure yourself before you are satisfied? You need to stop doing this to yourself. Go get yourself cleaned up for dinner." Vlad watched the boy dejectedly walk away. The butler excused himself, leaving Vlad alone to his thoughts.

Vlad is very powerful man. With 20 years of experience as a halfa, Vlad used his ghostly abilities to acquire his first millions in underhanded methods. Unknown to Danny, most of Vlad's fortune and political power can be credited to his ghost powers in which he overshadowed millionaires to give him their companies and learn their trade. He also created his own company DALV Co which soon became sensational overseas.

Even though the older halfa led a well-off lifestyle, there were still things that the man wanted. Things that money could not buy. He couldn't buy his favorite sports team, the Green Bay Packers, since the city of Green Bay refused to sell the team to him. His immense love for the woman he could not have left him a bachelor without an heir to inherit his wealth and take on his business. That woman was Maddie Fenton, Jack's wife and Daniel's mother.

While living in Madison, Wisconsin, he secretly kept tabs on the Fenton family (mainly Maddie) and their progress. He watched their children grow and was particularly fond of young Daniel. When he learned of the accident that took the life of his beloved and her family, he quickly left to retrieve their orphaned son. Despite the loss of the woman he loved, he was thrilled at the prospect of having the son he always wanted, as an added bonus Daniel was also the child of Maddie.

He was sadly disappointed when he saw the traumatized 10-year-old boy. The boy was a broken doll. A cheap replacement of the once-headstrong boy. Where was the passionate spirit, the cheeky smirk, the snarky comments, or the playful mirth dancing in his eyes? Now the boy's eyes were dead, void of life and hope, lips pressed in a thin line, and his fiery spirit dampened.

Vlad worked hard to get Daniel to open up to him and return to the cheerful child he once was. But how could you make a child, who has lost all his loved ones in a single moment, happy? He tried getting Daniel everything he could think of that a young boy his age would want: toys, game systems, books, attention, and pets. Vlad knew the boy loved astronomy and had wanted to be an astronaut, so he decorated the boy's room with that in mind. The boy was not moved. Maybe Daniel needed new friends to give him company? Vlad had other children come over and play, but the boy refused to interact with any of them. Vlad had even tried therapy, which proved ineffective when the child refused to speak since the accident. It took months but he finally saw hope when the mute boy started talking again.

Being a halfa himself, Vlad knew the dangers that came with having ghost powers. If they don't regularly release their powers, their energy can accumulate and the buildup can be disastrous to their health. When they are not the target of the other ghost's aggression, they still have to be careful of humans. If their secret is discovered, they will be hunted down. Or worse, captured by the Guys In White to be dissected and experimented on. Rather than leaving his son vulnerable, Vlad proceeded to train the boy to use his powers.

Vlad's heart swelled with pride when the young Daniel learned to fly. Finally, Vlad had a child he could call his own. A child who shared his ghostly secrets, an heir to teach his trade, and a son to whom he could leave his fortune. Now if only Daniel will renounce the blundering idiot Jack Fenton as his father (oh, how he loathed the man), then everything would be perfect. Currently, Daniel called him "Vlad", but the man was patient. Soon Daniel will call him _father_ , and what a joyous day that will be. All he had to do was wait...

Now that Daniel was older, he chose to use his abilities to protect the people. Vlad worried for the child. Vlad still disapproves of his choice, he would much rather Daniel use his powers for his own personal gain rather than have the boy to come home battered and injured from protecting a stranger. The people he saved were unappreciative of the sacrifice the child gave to them, he should not have to risk his life for others. He's still a young child! A child that should enjoy and treasure the life he was given, not throw it away at the first shot at redemption. A 12-year-old shouldn't have to bear the heavy burden of guilt from a loss that he blamed on himself.

No matter how many attempts Vlad made to comfort Daniel and tell him that the accident wasn't his fault, that Jack should have known better than to leave the lab unlocked with dangerous equipment if he had kids in the house. But no matter what Vlad said, Daniel was adamant. Vlad let out a heavy sigh, why must children be so difficult.

**-PotC-**

Danny opened the door to Vlad's private study, the large room was adorned with green and gold, a theme consistent throughout the entire mansion. They were the team colors of Vlad's favorite sports team. The Fruit Loop can be seriously obsessive at times.

Danny remembered when he was first learning to use his powers, he had an argument with Vlad. The older halfa wanted him to attend a prestigious private school and Danny wanted to remain at his current public school. In his anger, Danny swiped his hand to the side in frustration while accidentally releasing a green ball of ectoplasm in the process. The mass of acidic energy collided with Vlad's treasured Packer's collection, blowing up everything (even his most prized possession: a football signed by Ray Nitschke). The look of devastation on the man's face was soon replaced with fury. The enraged man transformed into his ghost half.

That was the first time Danny saw his ward's ghost half and it terrified him. Vlad's ghost form resembled that of a vampire, deathly blue skin, blood red eyes, sharp pointed fangs, and black hair shaped into devil horns…. Since then Danny learned how ferocious the older man can be and refrained from irking him as much as he used to.

Danny stopped in front of the large fireplace, reaching for one of the golden football statues that decorated the sides, he pulled it back towards him. A small click could be heard from inside, then the fireplace shifted, revealing a secret passageway. The spiraling stairs led down into the gloomy darkness below.

This was the entrance to Vlad's secret lab, Danny was finally allowed access to it when Vlad had finished the surprise he wanted to show him. Danny walked into the clean, well-organized lab which was the complete opposite of the cluttered, messy basement his parents used as their laboratory. The boy stopped in front of a machine that took up an entire wall of the lab. The gaping hole in the wall gave off an eerie glow that cast an emerald highlight to the white room. The swirling green vortex that could be seen inside was the entrance to the Ghost Zone.

The older halfa was able to recreate a working portal and other inventions that Danny's parents had made in his lab. Vlad had rebuilt the ghost portal to allow Danny an easier access to send back ghosts to the ghost zone. Danny was apprehensive of the gift at first and thought of it as a cruel joke that Vlad made to torment him. The Ghost Portal, the main culprit of his loss and pain. The invention that stole everything from him, his family, his friends, his home, and his humanity. Danny didn't want to even look at the machine at first, the center of his nightmares, and was upset at Vlad for the insult. Now Danny, although still wary, understood the necessity and importance of the portal to his ghost hunting.

Danny took out the Fenton Thermos that contained the two occupants and faced it towards the portal opening. He pulled off the cap and pressed the "release" button with his thumb. Light flashed out in a swift stream. Danny briefly saw the form of Johnny and Spectra as they were propelled into the spirit realm where they belonged, their figures swallowed by the greedy smog. Satisfied with his work, the halfa closed the man-made ghost portal with the genetic lock.

When Vlad had first shown the younger halfa how to operate the portal, the boy did not heed Vlad's warning and had shot into the Ghost Zone. The zone housed many of the halfa's ghostly enemies and the unexplored territories posed an innumerable amount of danger. Danny didn't care, letting his emotions control him like a hot-blooded teenager, and plunged in. He had searched the ghost zone, kindling the vain hope that he might meet the spirits of his deceased friends and family there. Unable to find them, he had even resorted to searching out Desiree. Danny had sought her out when he had heard of her powers to grant wishes, but even the wishing ghost's power was unable to bring back the dead. She could reanimate their bodies but not their souls. Their spirits had already moved on having no regrets or obsessions tying them down.

After some thought, Danny now realized that they were fortunate to be able to pass on without turning into one of the malevolent ghosts stuck forever in the ghost zone. Although still dejected, the dispirited teen at least now knew that they were at peace.

Floating off the ground, Danny returned the thermos to his bag. Danny took the shortest route to his room: via phasing through the walls. The halfa was at ease to use his powers in the mansion, he wasn't worried about the unsuspecting prying eyes of the servants that served the household. He didn't need to hide his secret here. This was because the entirety of Vlad's staff consisted of ghosts. They were weak specters that posed no threat to the halfas, they served Vlad by contract. They filled the roles of the mansion's servants, having duties such as serving, cleaning, cooking, chauffeuring, gardening, and instructing in exchange for various payments that fulfilled their obsession. These were ghosts who would rather live in the safe haven of Vlad's mansion rather than fend for themselves in the hostilities of the Ghost Zone. In exchange for Vlad's protection, they served him.

Danny was critical of them at first, leaning more towards an attitude of suspicion for any malicious attempt. He was constantly wary of the food they served, believing it contained some hidden ingredient to poison him. It took several reassurances from Vlad guaranteeing his safety and that the ghost that resided here had no ill intentions for Danny to take a bite. Even then, Vlad had to taste test Danny's food first. Danny finally relented, but that didn't mean he was entirely comfortable with the idea of being left alone with the ghosts.

Setting the bag on his desk, he then pulled open the drawer for his First-Aid kit. Unbuttoning his dress shirt, he examined the abuse done to it. The fabric of the left shoulder was torn with crimson stains blossoming from the edges. Danny grimaced, forget repairing the damage, just the blood stains alone will take a ridiculous amount of effort to fix. Declaring the shirt as a lost cause, Danny tossed it into the trash bin. He didn't worry too much about the loss. Vlad is a man of means, even replacing Danny's entire wardrobe wouldn't faze the billionaire.

Taking the first-aid kit with him to the bathroom, Danny inspected the extent of his injuries. The raven haired boy sucked in a breath as he took in the wound. Five ugly claw marks jagged its way from his left clavicle up and around his shoulder to his back. His blood had already started to clot, but the sheer deepness of the wound enforced its grizzly appearance. Danny sighed, even with his advanced healing it was going to leave a scar. Upending a bottle of antiseptic on a cotton pad, he cleaned the area to prevent an infection. He bit his lips from the stinging pain that jolted whenever he dabbed the wounds and quickly proceeded to wrap his shoulder with gauze. His efficiency evident from practiced use due to all the previous injuries he treated from his numerous battles.

His entire body was matted with scars, both new and old. Each one told its own painful story on how it was inflicted. Dragon's flame breathe here, ectoblast here, and shrapnel there. Danny shed his suit for a more comfortable attire. Now that he was home, he no longer needed to uphold Vlad Master's public image. He pulled on a simple white tee with a red oval embellished on the front and long baggy jeans. The boy's shoulders sagged and relaxed, relishing in the fact that he needn't be afraid of anyone here taking advantage of his vulnerability. Granted he was lucky that he could cover all his scars with a simple T-shirt and jeans to avoid suspicion from his peers and teachers. Vlad already has to deal with enough trouble, don't need to add child abuse to the list.

Having finished making himself presentable to Vlad, Danny made his way down to the foyer where a servant floated, apparently waiting for him.

"Young master, dinner is prepared. Master Masters is in the dining hall awaiting your presence." Danny struggled to withhold a snort when he heard how the ghostly servant had addressed Vlad. Talk about confusing title!

"Uh, okay." Danny nodded to the servant and allowed the ghost to lead him to the dining hall.

Vlad was already seated at the head of the long table. The sheer size of the table was ridiculous, the dining table could literally seat about 30 people comfortably. Danny promptly took the seat to the right of Vlad. When Danny had first arrived at the mansion to live with the billionaire, he deliberately sat at the far side of the table across from Vlad to be as far from the man as possible. Later, Danny found that he would rather have a civil conversation with the older halfa rather than the aggravating shouting match they had to resort to. Finding that the prideful act of rebellion was too tedious to uphold, he finally gave in. So that they can converse without running their throat hoarse, he begrudgingly placed himself to the right of Vlad. After becoming comfortable around the man, the young ghost boy found that he actually enjoyed the other halfa's company and that he was actually not that bad to be around.

A glowing green plate of food was placed in front of Danny by one of the ghost servants. Danny scrunched up his nose at the seemingly radioactive food.

Vlad looked up from his plate and noticed the boy's apprehension. "Eat Daniel, it will accelerate your healing."

Danny proceeded to poke the dish with his fork, "Why is it glowing? Are you sure that they aren't trying to kill me?" Danny pointedly jabbed his eating utensil at the direction of the green ghost floating by the kitchen door.

The ghost returned him a sharp glare, a barely hidden snarl forming at the spirit's mouth. Danny smirked back, it was no hidden secret that the ghost staff disliked him and only tolerated him due to Vlad. He didn't mind though since the feeling was mutual.

"Daniel, as I have already told you before, the food is safe. I can assure you that I have personally checked the food beforehand. Its unusual appearance is due to the fact that I had asked the kitchen staff to include the ghost plants that I have gathered at the Ghost Zone into your meal. The plant's properties will bolster your body's natural healing abilities, thus efficiently speeding up the amount of time it will take you to recover from your wounds." The look that the older halfa sent his way allowed for no objection.

Huffing in displeasure, Danny reluctantly scooped a portion of the glowing neon meal into his mouth. Instantly his face screwed in disgust. He choked from the revolting taste and promptly gagged and coughed while repeatedly hitting his chest to dislodge the piece that went down the wrong way.

"Ugh, it's disgusting." Scowling, the young boy pointedly stuck out his tongue.

"Now, Daniel, what did you expect, it's plants cultivated from the Ghost Zone. Don't be picky. Taste is a poor representation of the health benefits. Things that taste good are not necessarily healthy while the same can be said for its counterpart."

"Just because something is good for me doesn't make me want to eat it." The boy pouted.

Vlad met the defiant glare of the sulky boy, midnight against icy blue eyes, then the man sighed in defeat. It was only around Vlad did the younger halfa let down his guard and show his childish tendencies, and Vlad couldn't help but concede defeat to the boy. "At least finish half of it, then you can ask the cook for something else."

"Now about your injuries-"

"I was attacked by none other than the happiness sucking whore, Spectra." Vlad shot him a dark look for his crude language but motioned Danny on to continue.

"She gave me crap about my parents and we fought."

"I assume you had some difficulties with her?"

"Actually no." Vlad cocked his eyebrow in an aristocratic manner. The boy must have been emotionally vulnerable after visiting his parent's graves, so it wouldn't have been surprising if the halfa had struggled against her.

"It was surprisingly easy, just that…" Danny trailed off, voicing going quiet as he was unsure of how to elaborate.

"Just that?"

"I have no idea what exactly happened but when I tried to shoot an ectoblast at her, I somehow froze her instead."

Vlad paused, "You must have unlocked a new ghost power. I will go look into my acquaintances in the ghost zone tomorrow for a ghost who might have knowledge about cryokinesis and would be willing to mentor you to control it." Danny nodded his head in silent assent.

In a relatively slow manner, the boy finally finished the gross "gunk". Acknowledging that the boy was done with his meal, it was time for the older halfa to get down to business and address the issue at hand. The elephant in the room had been ignored for too long. He had wanted to bring up the topic for a while but was unsure and indecisive due to the child's fluctuating mental stability. But he could no longer afford to tip-toe around the issue of the boy's current "hobby". He had let things go too far if he didn't put a stop to it now, the consequences could be detrimental to the boy's health.

"Daniel, I am putting a stop to your ghost hunting activities. This "hobby" that you obsess yourself with is unhealthy."

"What are you going on about?" Danny slammed his eating utensil down, fist clenching in anger.

"Don't think I haven't noticed how your grades have fallen. You are constantly out past your curfew and fatigued. I also received a discouraging call from Mr. Lancer. You are frequently tardy to class and you blatantly sleep during lecture. Honestly, I'm disappointed in you, Daniel."

"And that matters to me why?"

"I can't help but worry for you."

"Well, don't bother. You aren't my parent, _Vlad_ , so don't act like you are now!"

"Daniel! You are ruining your chances for your future. If you keep this up, you will never be an astronaut for NASA, no space program will hire you with those grades. I will be driving to school from now to make sure you make it to class on time."

"What! But-"

"I shall not allow you to ghost hunt until you can prove to me that your grades are secure and that you are able to handle the stress of ghost hunting without affecting your grades."

"You can't do that!"

"I can and I will. This discussion is over. Goodnight, Daniel." Vlad stood up from his seat and left the room, leaving the fuming boy behind. Only when the boy completely processed the new information given, did the seriousness of his situation set in. The ghost boy groaned in exasperation, slumping back into his chair in a resigned forfeit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note 3:
> 
> Sorry guys, I know you are wondering when Harry and his friends will appear and when Danny will go to Hogwarts. Please be patient, there are still some things that I need to cover before then.
> 
> Everything is as it should be…


	5. Isolated

Danny waited for Vlad in the main foyer. After a tense breakfast, Danny gave up on continuing the silent treatment he had with the older man. He couldn't stay upset at the man because long ago Danny realized that everything that the older halfa did was for Danny's best interest. Yeah, Vlad could have gone about a better approach to stop him from arriving at school late, but personally driving him there was probably the most effective way to keep an eye on him. Making sure that nothing can intercept Danny on his route to school. No ghost was stupid enough to assault him when Vlad was around unless they were suicidal.

Vlad finally made his way downstairs. "Good morning, Daniel. Are you ready to leave?" Danny pulled his school bag onto his shoulder and nodded his head in assent.

When they walked out of the mansion, Danny stopped, "Can we not go in the limo today? I don't want anyone at school to know that I live with you."

"And why is that?" Vlad raised a questioning brow at his young charge.

Danny gave Vlad a pointed look, "You're freakin' Vlad Masters, one of the richest man in America! Everyone in Amity Park knows you." Danny waved his arms to emphasize. "I don't want the other kids at school to find another thing to use against me..."

"Daniel, you should not be bothered by how others view you. You have nothing to be ashamed of. You mustn't concern yourselves with them." Vlad chided to the boy.

"I know but I rather not start any trouble."

Vlad let out a sigh, "Alright, we will not be using the limousine today." Vlad led Danny to another car. Pulling out his keys, the man opened the driver's door. Noting that the boy did not follow him in, "Daniel, do you need an invitation?"

"Seriously Vlad. What part of me 'wanting to remain inconspicuous' do you not understand?"

Of course, the car that Vlad picked was none other than a Lamborghini Veneno. The sleek black car was not only known for its speed but it was also one of the most expensive production cars on the market. The beast literally looked like the Batmobile and screamed WEALTHY.

"Uh, Vlad. I take that back. I'd rather take the limo."

"Nonsense, my boy. Get in." The man chuckled at the boy's reaction. Shaking his head, Danny rolled his eyes at the older halfa and climbed into the car.

**-PotC-**

Once the two halfas were a block from Casper Middle, Danny turned to Vlad. "You can drop me off here, I can walk the rest of the way." Vlad pulled them up to the curb.

Before Danny left the vehicle Vlad grabbed the boy's sleeve. "I will be traveling in the Ghost Zone today to search for a possible mentor for you, so I will be unable to pick you up after school. Give Carlos a call when you need a ride and he will come to you with the limousine."

"Got it. I will see you later today Vlad." Danny waved farewell to his ward and made his way towards Casper Middle School. As he left Vlad's line of sight, the cheerful smile faded from his face. Discarding his ebullient facade, he assumed his dispirited mask reserved for the student body at Casper: the withdrawn, antisocial geek. Hunching his posture and lowering his gaze, Danny mentally prepared himself for today's torture at his own personal hell. Keeping a lookout for a certain blond jock, he slowly trudged his way inside the building.

No sooner had he entered the building did his ghost-sense set off, the tell-tale blue wisps escaped his open mouth, alerting him of a ghost's presence in the school.

Danny froze for a moment, hesitant over whether he should go after the ghost or head to class. Of course, his hero-complex had to rear its head into his conscience, guilty over his selfish indecision to help people, Danny looked up at the clock in the hall. If he hurried, he might be able to make it to class in time.

His search did not take long as he soon found the ghost in the basement. The air was frigid to preserve the food stored there but the chilly temperature did not perturb the young halfa. In fact, he relished in it as the cold air that cooled and provided comfort to his core. Danny swept his gaze around the refrigerated storage space, the basement was filled with stacked boxes of packaged meat and fruit to be used in the cafeteria.

There was movement at Danny's left and several cardboard boxes glowed green, the common sign of possession. Recognizing the entrance, the halfa let out a desperate moan, "Please don't be who I think it is…"

But as usual, fate had it out for him with vengeance and his luck proved to be nonexistent. The pudgy, round ghost floated into view.

The overall-wearing ghost raised its gloved hands in a failed attempt to appear intimidating. "Beware! I am the Box Ghost!" the lone sound of a cricket answered back.

"I have control over all containers cardboard, cubic, and square. Tremble before the might of the Box Ghost, as you are at the mercy of…" the blue skinned ghost grabbed the nearest floating box and read the label, "Frozen corn puppies!"

Danny brought his palm to his face and dragged his hand down. His eyebrow twitched with his mounting annoyance.

"Seriously! I don't have time for this!" In a flash, rings traveled along Danny's body changing him into Phantom. Danny aimed the Fenton Thermos at the pitiful excuse of a ghost. Aware of the halfa's intentions, the ghost hurled the box's contents at the boy. Danny turned intangible to avoid the impact of the attack.

"You will not be able to contain the sheer awesomeness of the Box ghost in that cylindrical device! For I-" Danny caught off the Box ghost's tirade with the on button of the thermos. The ghost was soon enveloped in swirling light and his corporeal form began to distort. The Box Ghost let out one final "BEWARE!" before he was sucked into the device. Danny closed the cap on the thermos and reverted back to his human form.

The chime of the late bell reverberated throughout the building.

"Aww, crap…"

**-PotC-**

Danny peeked into the small rectangular window of the classroom door. Mr. Lancer was in the middle of droning out a mundane lecture to his English class. Danny held his breath as he slowly creaked the door open. Stealthy, he tiptoed his way into the classroom, trying to remain quiet and unnoticed by the teacher as he snuck toward his assigned seat near the back of the room. Danny froze as the room settled into a foreboding silence, the irate noise of a throat clearing caught his attention. Danny turned towards the vexed teacher. The portly, bald man had his arms crossed as his fingers tapped in an annoyed manner.

"So you finally decided to bless us with your presence, Fenton? Late to class again. Rest assure, your guardian will hear of this." Danny heaved a sigh in defeat and made his way to his seat. The surrounding students giggled at the black-haired geek's distress. Danny's ears tinged red as he slid down into his chair.

**-PotC-**

In the hallway, Danny ducked through the crowd of teens. He weaved in and out while keeping to the sides, careful to avoid any unnecessary attention as he made his way to class. Unfortunately for him, his attempt was in vain as he caught the eyes of none other than Dash Baxter.

The larger boy barreled his way to Danny. "Hey, Fenturd!" The jock forced his way to Danny with his other jock friend, Kwan, in tow.

"Dash, I really don't have time for this. I actually want to get to class on time for once, can we settle this on another date?" The halfa let out a small awkward chuckle, hoping to placate the incoming threat.

Knowing Dash and the way the bigger boy smashed his fists together in what Danny supposed was to be a show of power, he was here to give Danny a beating. Danny carefully edged his way back, trying to keep the distance between him and the looming jocks.

He had experience with fighting ghosts that posed a bigger threat than the mere bullying teen. Danny had undergone and survived against his fair share of painful battles and came out on top with quite a few grievous injuries for his troubles. But this was different, he had fought against _ghosts_ ; not humans. Ghosts were durable enough to hold their own against his strength and powers. Humans were fragile. One wrong hit from the halfa and the human can be sent to an early grave.

Danny could not fight back against the blond teen. All he could do was either find a way to escape or endure the hits that the jock inflicted on him. Yes, he was used to pain and he had a fairly high pain tolerance than what was considered the norm, but that doesn't change the fact that he still would prefer to come out from the confrontation unscathed.

"I got an 'F' in class today!" Dash shoved the paper into the smaller boy's face. Kwan positioned himself to the halfa's other side, barring his escape.

"And pray tell, what exactly does it have to do with me?" Danny drawled, voice laced with sarcasm. Dash's eyes twitched in anger at his tone. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say to Dash.

"I have to wail on someone to relieve my stress, you know what that means?" Dash cracked his knuckles.

By now, the two boys had drawn the attention of a small crowd. Some were curious while others were eager to see the spectacle that was bound to happen. Teens jeered at Danny and egged the bully on, hoping for a good show. Dash basked in the attention, pleased with his position of power over the student body.

Knowing that the blonde was not going to let him leave, Danny let out a resigned sigh and motioned for the bully to continue.

Dash frowned as he was still unable to get the satisfying reaction of fear from the raven-haired teen.

"What, you still upset that your family was blown sky high?" Danny visibly stiffened.

The bigger boy grinned as he finally got the reaction he wanted from Fenton, Dash looked back at the gathering crowd before continuing on. "It probably was your dad's fault that they blew up, he always did manage to mess up everything like a blundering idiot. Too bad he didn't get you too. The least he could have done was keep you together with your family. Guess he ruined that too since we still have to deal-"

He was caught off as the smaller boy slammed his fist into Dash's jaw. The jock's body spun through the hall in a wide arc. Blood spurted from Dash's lips as several teeth flew out and he hit the lockers with a resounding thud. The teen slumped to the ground. It would have been comical if it weren't for the fact that the supposed weakling, Danny Fenton- favorite punching bag of Dash Baxter, was the one who threw that hit.

"U-urgh..." The bloodied blonde weakly groaned in pain.

The crowd hushed and stared with a wide-eyed gobsmacked expression at Danny, the surrounding teens were stunned into silence at the shocking act that the school geek displayed. Although the proof was right there, no one could believe their eyes on what exactly had transpired.

Mr. Lancer pushed his way through the crowd of bystanders. His eyes landed on the crumpled form of Dash Baxter, Casper's football star.

"Moby Dick! What in god's name happened here?" All accusing eyes fell on Danny. Mr. Lancer turned to see said teen frozen in position, his fist still out and knuckles bloody from the punch he unleashed just moments earlier. Unnerved by the pointed stares, Danny sheepishly smiled to the middle-aged teacher.

"Mr. Fenton, detention with me after school. Mr. Lee, take your friend to the infirmary." The bald man then turns his attention to the gawking students in the hall, "What are you all standing out here for? Get to class everyone!" The crowd quickly dispersed, scurrying away to their next class.

When the bell rang, announcing the end of school, teens rushed out the building to freedom. Danny wasn't released like everyone else, instead, he had to head to Mr. Lancer's room. When he stepped inside, Mr. Lancer was already seated at his desk waiting for the boy.

"Mr. Fenton, are aware of why you are here? It has come to my att-" the man flinched as he was cut off by a loud shrill scream. Several more quickly followed as flashes of electric green light shown through the window. Mr. Lancer ran to the window to see what was going on outside.

"Lord of the Flies! We're under attack!" The man's face turned ashen as he saw the horrors occurring at Amity Park. He quickly turned to Danny and ordered the boy to stay inside and hide while he went and got help.

Danny waited until the man left the room before transforming into his alter self and fazed through the building. Rather than the typical ghost attack on Amity Park, he was met with an unexpected sight. Multiple strange men wearing black hooded robes and masks cracked into existence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note 4:
> 
> As a fellow reader, I personally hate short chapters. I understand the frustration of reading a good book that seems to have a lot of chapters and appears to be a lengthy read, only to be sorely disappointed to find out that it is not due to the short word count of each chapter. So I am dutifully making it my goal to at least have 1000 words minimum in each chapter. Due to this, it will take some time to write each chapter and thoroughly edit them. Just a heads up. R&R
> 
> till next time~


	6. Attacked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter will contain some mature content which includes blood, gore, violence, and torture. As you have probably noticed by now, this story will have dark themes. I will recommend that anyone who are under the age of 13 to proceed with caution...  
> Ah, who am I kidding, most of you will ignore this and continue on anyway. Enjoy~ :)

The citizens of Amity Park were in a state of panic. The masked figures pointed their wooden sticks at the fleeing mass. With various voiced incantations (which Danny later recognized as Latin) colorful bursts of light sped out from the sticks and inflicted large amounts of damage onto their targets.

Cries of agony, anguish, and fury filled the streets. The citizens shrieked and screamed in fright. All around people were trying in vain to avoid the dark figures' onslaught. Some of the victims even had to drag themselves across the ground as they were now crippled. Children and adults alike were indiscriminately cut down. They were dismembered by a severing hex, bleed out, decapitated, disintegrated, or had their entrails expelled from their body.

The few brave people who had tried to fight back against the robed figures were blasted by a large explosion. The lucky ones died instantly from being blown to bits. The unlucky were still alive with their bodies charred and still burning.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Bright green spells flashed out and lifeless bodies dropped to the ground like flies. Some of the attackers were laughing cruelly while they had their victims trapped at wand point. With a simple "Crucio" the citizens were writhing on the ground from the immense pain, choking on their own blood from where they bit their own tongue.

Danny watched the scene in horrid fascination. He was frozen in shock and unable to tear his gaze from the dreadful sight. The nauseating stench of burning flesh, blood, and gore permeated the air. This was far worse than any ghost fight, which now seemed like child's play compared to this massacre.

It would be a vast understatement to say that the boy was scared. Danny was terrified, this was not something that any 12 years old should be exposed to. Out of all his fights, the ghosts that he fought never killed anyone before. The battles between ghosts were more like a spar. They may have injured each other badly but they never aimed to kill. Maim not murder.

This was different on a whole new scale. Seeing the bodies and the brutal torture inflicted by the culprits who were fellow _**humans**_ , Danny felt as though an important part of him was being ripped away, lost forever. The carnage had brutally thrust the boy to reality. This was no longer about him beating the bad guys and playing hero. What he saw today marked the end of young Danny's childhood innocence.

A lone beam whizzed by the halfa's head, snapping the boy's attention back to the current threats. He dodged to the right while shooting out an ectoblast at the masked men. The attack clipped one of the men and effectively drew their awareness to Danny.

The robed men instantly pointed their sticks at the floating child. They regarded the halfa in brief confusion. The creature looked like a child of 11 or 12 years of age. If not for the neon, green eyes and the slight glow that the creature gave off, it could have easily passed for a human. Despite the childish appearance, the men were wary of the unknown creature for it still posed a viable threat.

"What is that thing?" Danny eyes twitched in annoyance for being called a "thing".

"I heard that this American muggle town is home to an unusual breed of tangible ghosts. Do you think that thing is one of those ghosts?" One figure voiced his thoughts in mild fascination.

Danny was startled by the comment. _Tangible ghosts? Are there other kinds of ghosts?_

"Doesn't matter, we are still going to kill it." Stated the apparent leader with clear finality, effectively cutting off any further unnecessary discussion. He was the tallest man in the group with his rugged appearance and beady coal eyes, it was apparent that he was not one to cross. The leader raised his stick towards the halfa. Aware of the oncoming attack, Danny only had time to form a quick ecto-shield around himself.

" _Bombarda Maxima!_ " The man yelled and a sudden explosion erupted at the boy.

Unprepared for the immense strength of the sudden blast, the ecto-shield shattered. Danny was blown back into a building, the force of the impact knocked the halfa unconscious. The structure collapsed on top of the boy and a brief flash of white shown through the rubble. The man who shot the spell apparated to the aftermath of the destruction where he saw the specter land. With a wave, the chunks of wreckage were lifted and moved aside.

To the man's surprise, the ghost in question was not there. Instead, there was a raven-haired boy in the ruins.

The other men apparated to the scene. Mimicking the leader's confusion they asked the man, "Where's the ghost?"

"I don't know. I thought it landed here, but as you can see I found this child instead." The leader pointed his wand to the unconscious boy.

"I guess you killed it then." One of the robed men concluded.

"Marcus, can you even kill a ghost?" All the men looked to Marcus as they all wondered the same thing.

"Err... not that I know of, but it's not here... So I guess it either left or ceased its existence." The surrounding men nodded their heads in agreement. It was the only plausible explanation they could think of.

"Altair, what do you want to do with the boy?" Marcus asked the leader.

"I will deal with him. Everyone else continue with the mission. Now that we know that the Dark Lord is alive, it is essential that we continue his work. Since the higher ups are in Azkaban, it is all the more reason to look for our Lord in their stead so that we may serve and aid him. With this, we can prove our loyalty and when we find him, he will reward us greatly for our service." Altair dismissed the group.

The other men swiftly left Altair's side to resume their terrorizing. Altair focused his gaze back to the boy. He concluded that the child must have hit his head because a slow trail of blood was oozing down from his hairline. The man jabbed his wand at the boy's throat. The sudden movement caused a low groan to escape from the child and his eyes slowly fluttered open. Tired, glazed eyes drifted around the surrounding. Another sharp jab and the eyes focused on Altair who had Danny pinned. The man's breath caught in his throat as he caught the piercing azure eyes. The eyes seemed much too old, too cold for a boy his age.

Danny defiantly locked his eyes with the man, unwilling to look away. To break eye-contact was the same as giving up and admitting defeat to his captor. He was too tired and weak to escape. Defending against the last attack had used up most his energy. If he were to die by this man's hands, so be it. He would rather be damned than show weakness.

The man let out a small appreciative hum from his throat, amused by the child's spirit. The fearless glare that the boy gave Altair as he bravely faced his imminent death sparked the man's interest. It was a welcomed change to the usual blubbering mess that begged for mercy.

"What's your name child?" The man removed the wand from the boy's throat but it remained pointed at the boy.

"Wha?" Danny was confused by the strange man's action. Wasn't he going to kill him?

"What. Is. Your. Name?" The man enunciated slowly, "You have impressed me, so I will honor you by knowing your name before I grant you your demise."

Danny licked his dry lips, "Fe-" before he could finish, a sudden flashback from when he was a young child resurfaced.

**-PotC-**

**Maddie had tucked a young Danny to bed. She sat down beside him and placed her hand gently on the boy's head, stroking the soft locks of hair.**

**"Danny, you may not know this but Fenton isn't our real last name. We used to belong to a proud ancient family called Nightingale. But now our blood is small and we are the last ones left of our family."**

**The boy's blue eyes looked up in innocent wonder. "Why aren't we Ni-tinggal now, Mama?"**

**Maddie gave a sad smile, "We are in exile."**

**"Exile? What's that?"**

**"We made a big mistake and were banished from our home…"**

**"What did we do bad? Am I bad?" The boy bit his bottom lip, eyes beginning to water.**

**"No Danny, you did nothing wrong." Maddie patiently reassured the child. "Someday when you are older, you will understand. Maybe there will come a time when we are able to have our name back again."**

**-PotC-**

Since Danny was the last of his family line, he will honor his name with pride. Danny met the man's eyes and stated with hardened resolve, "Nightingale. Daniel James Nightingale."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note 5:  
> I'm excited about this chapter because it marks a massive turning point in Danny's life. I was originally planning on releasing this chapter till later, but after seeing the vast amount of new followers for this story, I decided 'Ah, why not!' So thank you so much, my loyal readers, I didn't expect this many people to give this story a try.  
> I also want to spend a moment to thank everyone who commented. It helps a lot to know that someone is actually reading and enjoying what I write. I also want to thank all those who have favorited this story, I am thrilled to know that this story has reached your satisfaction!  
> Till next time~


	7. Magic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Torture

_Previously:_

_Danny met the man's eyes and stated with hardened resolve, "Nightingale. Daniel James Nightingale."_

**-PotC-**

Altair raised his brow as he recognized the name. This child was not a regular muggle. The Nightingales were a respectable Pureblood family in the North American continent. They were renowned by the Wizardry community during the 1600's for their extensive knowledge of Dark magic and have invented some of their own spells. But the family was said to have banished and no one has heard of them since.

"To think that the first American wizard I meet is from the infamous Dark family, Nightingale. I'm curious, though, for I thought the bloodline had already met its end." The man's predatory gaze examined the boy held at his mercy. "Nevertheless, I shall have the honor of killing off the last carrier of that name."

For a moment, Danny forgot his fear due to the strange man's comment. _Wizard? Dark Family? What is he talking about?_

"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" Danny's let out a gasp as his arms were forcefully pulled to his side and his body was stiffly frozen in place. Altair grabbed Danny's shirt and ripped the front off, exposing the boy's bare chest.

"But before that, let me mark my prize first…" The man chuckled darkly as he whispered " _Incendio_ " causing the tip of his wand to light aflame with an orange blaze.

Still frozen, Danny could only let out a small whimper, unable to do anything but watch as the man brought the flame closer to the boy. The Halfa let out a bloodcurdling scream of agony as the man pressed the burning wand onto his exposed flesh. Altair cackled at the boy's pain and relished the sound of his screams. Slowly, the Death Eater drew a crude replica of the Dark Mark onto the child's left chest, the brand will forever mark the boy's body.

Once he was finished, the man took a moment to appraise his work. The corner of his lips quirked upward in approval. "There. Now anyone who finds your corpse will know who purged the last of the Nightingales."

Altair patted the boy's cheeks lightly. Trailing his fingers down to the chin, he pushed it up to force the raven-haired child to focus on him. Smiling at the boy whose tears were streaming down his face from the pain, the man readied his wand for the final spell. "Send my regards to your family on the other side! AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Having no energy to shield himself, Danny mentally braced himself for his death. _I can finally join my family..._

A jet of electric green light flashed out of the wand and sped towards the young halfa. His body was engulfed in the bright light, but it soon faded leaving not a single mark.

"What the-" The Death Eater exclaimed. Danny opened his eyes to see that he was unharmed.

"How? You should be dead! How did you survive from the Killing Curse?!" Altair spluttered, unnerved by the child's apparent survival. "Only The-Boy-Who-Lived should have survived from the curse!"

Danny pondered over this statement. _Guess it can't kill a boy who is already dead... or half-dead._

Danny sighed, he was finally prepared to die too... and he went and lost the opportunity. _Sorry guys it looks like you have to wait a little longer._

For a brief moment, the leader shook in slight fear. To think that there was another Boy-Who-Lived in the Americas. If the first one was the one who defeated the Dark Lord when he was only an infant... _How powerful could this one be?_ It was then that he noticed the lack of a wand on the child.

_He must not know that he is a wizard yet. If I were to kill him, now is my chance before he becomes too powerful._

Altair looked around to see the current progress of his men. The other Death Eaters had already finished killing off most of Amity Park's population. Finished with their work, one of the Death Eaters cast the "Morsmordre" into the sky. The Dark Lord's symbol illuminated over Amity Park, the large ghostly serpent entwining its body around a skull's gaping mouth, leaving a terrifying message to the public. Done with their mission, the other Death Eaters had begun to flee the scene before any Aurors arrive. He too should leave soon. _Better end this quickly._

He returned his attention to the still paralyzed boy. "No matter. If the Killing Curse won't work on you, there are still plenty of other spells at my disposal in which I can kill you with. The question is- which one should I use? ~"

Altair roughly grabbed Danny's hair and lifted the child up. "Should I bleed you out or strangle you to death? Or maybe cause all your innards to spill out from your gut?" He sneered at the halfa.

Then the man paused with his expression deep in thought. He grinned as his eyes lit up with sadistic excitement. "Oh, I know! _Serpensortia!_ "

A large glistening gray snake materialized onto Altair's arm. It poised its head at Danny, prepared to strike at the man's command. It bared its fangs, showing off its inky black mouth. A dark tongue slipped out of its mouth as it tasted the air with a chilling hiss. Unable to move away from the fearsome creature, Danny could only shiver in petrified distress.

The man stroked the snake's coffin-shaped head tenderly, "Want to know want kind of snake this is?" Without waiting for a reply, he continued on.

"This beauty is called the Black Mamba. She is capable of biting from a considerable range in rapid succession. Her venom is extremely potent... A bite from her will first cause pain and numbness at the bite site. Then comes a headache and a tingling sensation throughout the body. You will begin to sweat uncontrollably, foam at the mouth, convulse, and go into shock. Leading to death by asphyxiation and cardiovascular collapse. It will be a very beautiful and slow death, you will be aware the entire time as your body dies bit by bit from the suffocation of the cells." He cooed to the snake in a sickening manner.

The encroaching man brought the Mamba to the terrified boy's face. Danny could see the toxic venom well up and drip from the snake's revealed fangs.

Danny's eyes widened in horror as he comprehended what the fiendish man was about to do. _No! No! NO!_ The young halfa was fine with the concept of dying since he could finally be with his family, but not like this. He did not want to die in this manner; a slow and excruciating death was not his ideal way to go. He wanted to back away, scream, anything! But he was still under the blasted spell and couldn't move. He couldn't force the man back, for his ectoplasmic energy reserve was empty.

He was completely and utterly trapped.

The man extended his arm and the serpent reared its head up. With a hiss, it struck, jaws opened as it targeted Danny's jugular. Danny squeezed his eyes shut as the snake sped towards him.

A deafening crack sounded as the snake bite the open air.

Danny was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: 6
> 
> How was the suspense? I wasn't sure on how you guys will react to this chapter, so please feel free to let me know what you thought of it!  
> Although it was hard, I thoroughly enjoyed writing this chapter. I hoped this chapter was to your liking too!  
> Till next time~


	8. Traumatized

Blissfully unaware of the events that had just transpired in Amity Park, Vlad was traveling through the Ghost Zone on his way back to the manor, mentally praising himself on a job well done. He was successful in finding a powerful mentor willing to teach his Little Badger on handling his new ice powers.

It took longer than what Vlad would have liked due to the fact that he had to go to the far corner of the Ghost Zone where the Realm of the Far Frozen was to find a suitable ghost. The older halfa had inquired to Skulker on the whereabouts of ghosts capable of cryokinesis abilities, thus leading him to the chilly, barren landscape, home to the yeti-like ghosts who were known for their proficient skill in medicine and technology.

When Vlad had first arrived at the land requesting permission to speak to the leader of Far Frozen, the two guards were highly skeptical of the intruding vampire-like ghost. After several taxing reassurances of his peaceful intentions, he was finally brought before their leader, Frostbite.

It is safe to say that Frostbite was suspicious of Vlad's motives after hearing the halfa introduced himself as Vlad Plasmius. He feared that Vlad was after the Infi-map. Frostbite remembered hearing mentions of foreign vampire-like ghost gathering contacts for an unknown cause, and he had no doubt in his mind that it wasn't for anything good.

Sensing the larger ghost's apprehension, Vlad quickly explained that he was in need of a mentor for his son and recounted how the boy accidentally came upon his new powers in combat.

This caught the Far Frozen's interest, it wasn't every day that a ghost came to them in need of guidance. His people were mostly misunderstood by the other ghosts due to their fearsome appearance and it didn't help that the few ghost that did visit their land were driven off because they tried to steal the Infi-map.

"What is your son's name?" Frostbite politely inquired.

"Daniel but he prefers to be called Danny."

"Danny? As in Danny Phantom?" Asked Frostbite in dawning realization.

"Yes."

Frostbite let out a jovial laugh. He roughly grasped Vlad's shoulder and gave the startled halfa a shake. "Well, why didn't you say so sooner! Of course, we would be honored to train the Great One!"

"Great One?" Vlad questioned, trying to restrain his grimace from being manhandled by the larger ghost.

"Yes, the Savior of the Ghost Zone, the one who defeated the Ghost King, Pariah Dark!" Vlad feigned ignorance as Frostbite continued to explain, "No one knows how Pariah was able to escape from the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep. If it were not for the Great One's valor, we would be under his evil rule again."

Unbeknownst to the surrounding ghosts, Vlad was, in fact, the reason why the Ghost King was freed from his eternal prison in the first place.

**-PotC-**

The whole ordeal was utterly time-consuming to the billionaire, but entirely worth it. Anything for his Little Badger. Vlad chuckled to himself as he recalled how the people of the Far Frozen revered his son and even made a cave depicting Daniel's battles in honor of his triumph over Pariah.

"Wait till I tell the boy." He laughed as he envisioned the child's reaction to the news and flew into the Ghost Portal.

**-PotC-**

Vlad was unprepared for the scene that met him when he returned to his laboratory. His white floor was stained with stark crimson, lying in an unnervingly large pool of blood was Daniel.

"Daniel!" Vlad rushed to the boy's side and his nose was assailed with the acrid stench of burned flesh.

The injured halfa's body was lying in an awkward, stiff position, his arms and legs pressed tightly together as if he was forced to stand attention to a soldier. His mouth was slightly parted and his unblinking eyes were frozen wide. His shirt was torn, revealing an angry burn in the shape of a skull and snake. The only visible signs of life were the rise and fall of the boy's chest from his erratic breaths.

"Daniel what happened?!" Vlad questioned. There was no response as unmoving eyes continued to stare past him.

Roughly having an idea of what might be the cause of Daniel's apparent immobility, Vlad reached into his suit's inner pocket and pulled out a long, slender wand.

" _Finate Incantem_." As Vlad undid the spell, Danny let out a large gasp as he greedily sucked in the air he was deprived of. Vlad quickly hid the wand into his pocket.

Danny's body finally able to relax, but was still sore from being forced to hold the same uncomfortable position for a prolonged period of time. Danny fought back the tears threatening to spill out.

Vlad helped the younger halfa sit up. Resting a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder, he softly questioned the boy, "What happened, my boy?"

Unable to hold back the floodgates any longer, Danny flung himself into Vlad's arms and wept bitter tears, releasing all his pent up emotions. Vlad's heart clenched painfully as he watched the broken child cry his fear out.

"Shh, shh. You're ok now. I got you. You're safe here." Vlad soothed the boy, rubbing circles on the child's back to calm him.

"I tried to stop them! I really did, but I couldn't do anything!" Danny sobbed. Vlad listened as Danny told him of his encounter with the masked men in robes. Those must have been Death Eaters, Vlad realized.

Danny then got to the part on how he escaped, "I don't know how I did it. One moment the snake is about to bite me, the next I popped in here. It must have been a new ghost power I activated from the stress." He concluded.

Vlad was strangely silent as he was deep in thought over the information. No, that wasn't a ghost power, Daniel was not experienced enough to use teleportation yet... He must have used accidental magic.

Suddenly it clicked. Accidental magic is used unconsciously when a child is under extreme amounts of stress, mostly when they are angry or scared. It usually first appears at a younger age but it must have been suppressed when Daniel obtained his ghost powers. Being a halfa, he was able to release his stress in the form of ghost powers and never had the chance to rely on his magic. With his ghost powers depleted and rendered useless, he must have finally accessed his magic. The more he thought about it, the surer he was.

"Yes, that must be it. Either way, you survived. Let me treat your wounds so that you will stay that way." Vlad carried Danny to the medical table and laid him down.

As Vlad treated the boy, Danny was replaying his encounter with Altair in his head. Danny was mortified and ashamed of himself. He used to be confident in his skills. He thought he could handle any situation because he was accustomed to fighting and always came out victorious in his battles. Instead, as soon as he ran out of energy, he was left helpless at the man's mercy. Completely vulnerable. How could he be so stupid, so _**weak**_?

He wasn't prepared at all. That was a real battle and he had failed miserably. If it weren't for his luck he would have died. And that's just it; it wasn't skill nor experience. Just _**luck**_.

Vlad cleared his throat to gain Danny's attention when he was done bandaging and dressing the boy's injuries. "It appears as though most of these will heal just fine given time but…"

"But?"

Vlad gave the boy a sympathetic look, "The burn on your chest will definitely leave a scar, I am unable to completely heal it. It may lighten and fade, but it won't disappear completely. I'm sorry."

Danny sighed in resignation. _Great. More scars to add to his growing collection. Not to mention the fact that the brand will be a constant reminder of his failure_.

Vlad pulled out a bottle from the cabinet, "Here, drink this. You need to rest." Danny obediently took the purple bottle from him and gulped it down.

Danny had wanted to ask Vlad what the man meant about wizards and the Nightingales but the potion's effect became known and he was pulled into the embrace of sleep. He would ask him later.

**-PotC-**

Vlad watched the boy's sleeping form for a moment. He had given Daniel a Dreamless Draught potion in the hope that it will provide some temporary relief to the boy.

But now to the matter at hand.

Vlad pulled out an electronic device and dialed a number. A metallic ghost with a flaming green mohawk appeared on the screen. "Skulker, I need you to head over to my lab now."

_"That's fine, but I thought you didn't want me over whenever the whelp was around?"_

"Don't worry, he's currently asleep and he will stay that way for a while."

_"Ok, I'm on my way. What do you need me for?"_

"I need to go to Britain for a business meeting. Due to the recent attack on Daniel, I believe it would be too dangerous to leave him here. I will be taking him with me to England."

_"I see. When will you leave?"_

"Immediately. I need you to help me pack."

 _"...Fine."_ The ghost begrudgingly agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note 7:  
> I want to explain some points in case anyone is currently confused.
> 
> I know that in the books, Voldemort doesn't regain many followers till at least the 4th book where Peter Pettigrew finds Voldemort in Albania, then Voldemort reclaims a bigger following of Death Eaters when he has his original body back. But as I mentioned earlier, this is an AU, so I will be altering some facts and events for my story. For instance, after the events that happened with the confrontation with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone, Voldemort is still weakened in his homunculus body and is hiding out in the forest of Albania but he already has a small following of lesser Death Eaters who serve him. While they don't know of his weakened state (as they haven't yet seen him in person), they do know that he is, in fact, alive. The reason why the public isn't in a state of panic is because they are in a state of denial, they don't want to believe that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is still alive.
> 
> Secondly, you may have noticed the lack of quips in Danny's current fights. First of all, Danny is still young and had not grown in his teen years where his sarcasm and witty personality has had a chance to develop and due to his newness to battle, he has yet to grow comfortable enough to banter with his enemies. But as he gets involved in more fights, I will include more banter.
> 
> He may seem weak now with his confrontation with the Death Eaters, but this is because he has never met any wizards before. He is unused to the spells they cast and hasn't learned how to fight against them yet. Don't worry, this will change later.
> 
> Also, Danny sees Vlad as a role model and slight father-figure, he is at the age where a child still has complete faith in their parents/guardians. Due to his youth, he is still blind to the fact that Vlad is not all that he seems and is naive to the extent of the evils a man can commit. He is unaware of Vlad's connections with the other ghosts nor that Vlad is a wizard.
> 
> Despite his traumatic past, Danny is still innocent to the wickedness of the world. Up till now, all he has only ever fought were ghosts, never humans, so he was able to separate between good and bad. People were good and ghosts were bad. The last chapter denoted his wake-up call to the reality in that not all people can be good and that nothing is clear cut between white and black.
> 
> With that happy note...Till next time~


	9. Leaving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone please thank Panda_morning_mourning. In honor of the first comment written for this story, I am releasing the next chapter early. While I already had this chapter ready, I wasn't planning on releasing it now. But after reading something as great as that, I was like "why not?". Be warned, this chapter will be fluffy. So enjoy~

It wasn't long after Vlad boarded the private jet to England did Danny show signs of waking up. Bleary blue discs slowly blinked away the drowsiness of sleep. Sitting up on the large couch he was on, Danny let out a large yawn as he tried to stretch his arms into the air. Bad idea. As soon as he lifted his arms, an intense wave of pain jolted through the boy.

"Ack!" Danny quickly wrapped his arms around his chest as he winced from the unexpected pain. It was then he noticed the sheer amounts of gauze he was cocooned in.

For a moment he was confused on why he was wrapped like a mummy and how he came to such abuse to his body, but soon the memories of the events prior slammed back. Looking around, he realized that he was unable to recognize his surroundings.

Panic clawed its way up the boy's throat as he scrambled back into his seat. "Where am I?"

Strong hands suddenly gripped the boy's shoulders, "Easy there." Danny turned his head to see that the person was none other than Vlad. "We are currently on my private jet heading to England."

"England?" The panic he felt earlier died back down and Danny slowly forced himself to relax.

"Yes, I have some business that I need to attend to there and after the recent attack on Amity Park, I thought it safer to bring you with me." Vlad calmly informed the boy.

Danny nodded his head to show that he understood. "And Amity Park?"

Vlad's expression turned grim, "More than two-thirds of the population had been killed... and the culprits were unable to be apprehended. The Guys In White did not believe the witness accounts and has blamed the attack on a group of malicious ghosts."

"That's so stupid!" Danny angrily exclaimed. It's one thing to brush off a small ghost attack, Amity has them frequently enough, but the government should not be able to sweep one that large under the rug and dismiss the validity of the witness's statements. "While the GIW are busy hunting for the non-existent 'malicious ghosts' the real culprits will get away scot-free! Where's the justice in that!"

"I agree, but sometimes it is easier for the government to blame the unexplained on ghosts. They would rather blame ghosts than admit that they were defeated by people wielding wooden sticks as weapons." Vlad attested solemnly to the pouting boy.

"Yeah, that sounds just like them." Danny scoffed bitterly, he childishly crossed his arms to show his displeasure.

"Which is why I decided that we will leave the country, since-"

"Apparently we can't rely on the government's oh-so 'capable' hands." Danny cut in.

"-We don't know if the true culprits will come after the survivors to finish the job." Vlad finished. He glared at Danny for rudely cutting him off.

"So what now, we're just going to hang out in England and wait till those men are caught?" Danny continued, casually ignoring the glare Vlad was sending his way.

"That is the plan, although I do not know how long it would take." _Or if they will be caught at all…_ Vlad thought to himself.

Internally Danny didn't agree to the plan. He did not like the idea of hiding out while relying on someone else to handle the situation. His expression darkened when he recalled how useless he was when against the terrorists. The boy sighed, even if he were to go after them, there was nothing he could do.

Vlad's phone vibrated, he pulled it out and checked the notification. "Why don't you look out the window, Daniel?"

Danny pushed up the window cover. Pressing his face against the glass, Danny looked down at the view.

"Welcome to England, Little Badger."

**-PotC-**

When the two halfas arrived at their place of residence, Danny couldn't stop his mouth from gaping open.

"Don't act so surprised, Daniel, and pick your jaw off the floor. It's unbecoming. You should already know that I have several properties around the world to accommodate for my business needs." He lightly chided the shocked child.

"Yeah, but I didn't expect this!" Danny gestured towards the building. The place was, in fact, another exact replica of Vlad's mansion in Amity Park. Everything from the front gate to the trimmed garden was similar to the mansion they had left. Danny couldn't help but be a little creeped out at the eccentric man and made a show of scooting away from him.

"You don't expect a man of my status to stay in a hotel, do you?" Vlad looked aghast at what Danny was implying.

"No, but isn't this a little overkill?" Danny couldn't help but ask.

"Nonsense my boy. This is perfectly normal." Vlad pushed open the front gate to the mansion. At lost for words and unsure of how to reply back to that comment, Danny reluctantly followed the man inside.

"Oh and Daniel, I don't know if those men will come after us to finish what they started. So while we are in Britain, you will not go by your previous name you had at school. Instead of 'Fenton', you shall go by the name Daniel James Masters." Vlad said as he began to unlock the front door to the mansion.

"Wait you mean-?"

"Yes, Daniel. I am formally adopting you as my son. I have held off on this long enough. I believe you are finally ready to learn to take over my business as my heir." Vlad walked inside while expecting Danny to follow him in.

Danny paused at the door.

Vlad looked back at the boy, "Daniel?" The light questioning tremble in his tone was the only evidence that gave away that the man was worried about the boy rejecting his offer.

He studied the boy's unreadable expression, unsure of how to gauge the boy's tense silence, he hesitantly continued on, "You don't have to agree to this if you don't want to. If you are uncertain, I will understand if you would like some time to think this over."

Danny shook his head, "No, it's not that… I mean, I would love to...it's just that…"

"It's just that?" Vlad visibly relaxed, letting out the breath he didn't know he was holding. He wasn't rejected. Although he could have done without the suspense, waiting on the boy's unclear reply was mentally straining.

"Do you mind if I call you 'Father' instead of 'Dad'?"

Vlad was stunned at the odd request, "I don't mind, but can I ask why?"

Danny cast his eyes to the ground and nervously shuffled his feet. "I have been thinking and I believe now is the time that I move on. Since we relocated and are in a new place with new people, I thought it will be a good opportunity for a fresh start."

The boy looked up at Vlad with determined eyes. "Not that I plan on forgetting my family and past, but I know that if they are watching, they would want me to continue living on for them. I guess I finally realized I shouldn't dwell on the past and let it hold me back. Blaming myself won't get me anywhere and it definitely won't bring them back…" Tears began to well up but the boy wiped them away. "Before the attack, I thought I was prepared to die. When that man tortured me it was like a wake-up call, I realized that despite the fear I felt, I still wanted to live."

"So yes, I would be honored to have your name and be adopted by you, but even then I want to reserve the title "dad" for Jack. Because to me, even if I have a new father he will always remain my dad… Is that alright with you?" Danny tentatively asked the man.

Vlad got down to his knees and embraced the boy. When they pulled away, Vlad brushed away a lone tear that was rolling down Danny's cheek. Smiling warmly, "Of course, my son." He answered.

What Vlad didn't mention to the boy was the true reason for the adoption. Both the names "Fenton" and "Nightingale" has an extremely negative reputation in the Wizardry World and it was safer for them if no wizards recognized Danny as the last Nightingale. Vlad couldn't help but sigh, he had a nagging feeling that something big was going to happen soon and disrupt their moment of peace.


	10. News

It hadn't been too long since the two halfas had arrived at their new dwelling. All the servants from the mansion in Amity Park traveled via the ghost portal to the new abode. With the many ghosts help, Vlad and Danny were able to quickly unpack and settle in.

Bored and needing something to do, Danny searched the halls of the immense mansion for the older halfa. Unable to find the man in the laboratory or study, Danny phased through the walls till he was at the front hall. There he finally found the elusive man.

"There you are, Vlad. I finally found you!" Danny ran up to the man.

"Is there anything you need?" Vlad glanced down at his watch.

"Can you train with me-"

"Not now, Daniel. I have to leave for my meeting." It was then that Danny noticed the black briefcase that Vlad held in his hands. Vlad did mention to him that he had a company meeting for the British chain of Dalv co. he had to be at soon.

"Oh, I see… that's okay, I understand." The glum child answered, but he immediately brightened back up. "I will see you when you get back then."

"Bye, Daniel. Now don't cause too much trouble for Ferdinand." Vlad bent down and ruffled the raven boy's hair.

"Oh, I will!" Danny cheekily grinned as he waved the man good-bye. Carlos helped Vlad into the limo and climbed into the driver's seat. The engine came to life and the vehicle pulled out of the driveway.

The smile bleed off Danny's face as soon as the young halfa was sure Vlad was gone. Closing the door, the boy headed back inside.

"Well, so much for that then…" Danny sighed dejectedly. Having nothing else to do, Danny made his way to the theater room.

**-PotC-**

Flopping onto the large leather couch, Danny flipped on the TV to see what was on. As he channel-surfed, he eventually came across a news channel featuring a live interview in America. More specifically, Amity Park.

An annoyingly peppy woman came up on the screen, her obnoxious (and obviously fake) teeth gleamed as she graced the viewers with a large beaming smile. _"Hello, this is Mia Brights, I am currently here at Amity Park in the hopes to shed some light on what exactly happened during the Amity Massacre when the city lost more than a third of their population."_

The camera panned, showing the viewers the aftermath of the devastating incident. Lights flashed red and blue while sirens blared and whined. Fires were raging across the city on most of the buildings, none was left unscathed from the destruction. Bodies were being removed from underneath rubble and people were being carried off on stretchers.

_"Oh look, there's Lance Thunder, Amity Park's ghost weatherman, at the scene."_

The view of the camera abruptly turned away from Mia and focused on Lance. The poor man looked absolutely dreadful. His usual perfectly combed blond hair was a ragged, frazzled mess, his clothes torn and ripped in patches like he had gotten away from being in the middle of a vicious animal fight. His face and hair were coated with dirt, grime, blood, and small pieces of gore.

He was leaning his weight heavily against a slightly charred tree as he observed the fireman and police running frantically around to put out the fires and provide relief to the injured survivors. His hand was subconsciously reaching up to his clumped locks as if mourning his ruined hair. He was muttering darkly to himself with a mix of colorful choice words including comments along the lines of _"Why did I quit acting for this… Of all the horrors...My poor hair..."_

The woman rushed off towards the man, leaving the cameraman struggling to keep up with her. _"Sir? Mr. Thunder, sir! May we have a moment of your time?"_

Lance abruptly snapped out of his train of thoughts as he heard the voice. When Lance sharply turned around to see the people who were calling him, Mia couldn't cover the grimace of disgust that spread across her face when she got a close look at the man's state. It was hard not to miss the growing wet stain on the man's pants.

Trying not to scrunch her nose at the horrid smell that was emitted from the man as she was in close proximity to him, she delicately smiled at him. _"We are from the Britain News, can we ask you some questions?"_ She asked sweetly, holding out her mic to Lance.

To Lance's credit, he showed a great amount of professionalism in the way he was able to pull off a bright, cheery attitude to the camera, despite being drenched in blood, gore, and other questionable fluids. Flashing a bright, heartwarming smile to the camera, _"Why of course!"_ He smoothly answered as though there was nothing amiss.

Granted the effect was ruined almost immediately when he combed his hand through his hair, catching bits of unidentifiable objects between his fingers. His eyes widened slightly when he saw his hand. He briskly shook it, then proceeded to wipe it against his side.

Mia can be seen barely able to reframe herself from gagging at the sight, her face quickly changing color from pale, ashen gray to green. It was quite comical to watch really.

_"Can you enlighten us on what happened here? Just seeing the amount of destruction, it must have been something intense!"_ Mia waved her hand, gesturing to the ruined background to emphasize her point.

Lance's eyes turned hard as he told the audience in a serious tone, _"As you can see, Amity was plagued by an attack from a rather ruthlessly, vicious new breed of **ghosts**."_

_"Ghost?"_ Mia repeated, her brows crinkling in confusion. Danny couldn't help but copy the woman's reaction and ask himself the same question. Those definitely weren't ghosts.

_"Yes, ghosts."_ Lance deadpanned.

_"I know this city is renowned for being the most haunted place in the world but isn't that just for tourist attraction. Are you seriously implying that you believe ghosts are real."_ The lady scoffed an amused laugh at the man's antics.

_"Yes, it's true! Those destructive beasts were rather bloodthirsty too!"_ The frustrated man's voice rose as he bordered on hysterical.

The lady frowned at him, _"I heard that the culprits were unable to be apprehended… But if I'm not mistaken, don't you mean terrorists?"_ Lance shook his head. _"Please stop your jest, this is serious! I understand that your city pride themselves on their 'ghosts' but blaming that this was caused by ghosts is rather ridiculous not to mention hard to believe."_ The woman chided to Lance disapprovingly.

_"Believe what you like but I am serious! Ask any other witness here and they will all say the same. We were attacked by ghosts! Ghosts, I tell you. Ghosts!"_ He threw his arms up into the air, his eyes pleading for anyone to believe him. Mia and her cameraman slowly backed away from the man, frightened by his outburst.

Lance then jabbed his finger, pointing it to a seemingly random direction at the distant smoking buildings. _"Heck, see that pile of rubble over there? Even our resident ghost hero was unable to defeat them (May he finally rest in peace). We will be holding a memorial service for it shortly."_

Mia snorted, rapidly losing her patience with the man. Excusing herself from the clearly loony man, she went and sought out other _more sane_ witnesses.

To her utter surprise, they all came back with the same results. All of them claimed that the culprits were ghosts.

_"Well, there you have it, folks. This town is clearly delusional. Apparently, the citizens here really do believe the massacre was caused by ghosts. I mean really? Wh-"_ Danny switched off the TV, having lost interest in the news.

Danny scoffed darkly at the woman's reaction. Typical. Even if an entire town believes in ghosts, there are still plenty of people out there who don't. They refuse to see what's right in front of them.

Danny hummed to himself, he remembered how before the Pariah Dark incident, the citizens of Amity didn't believe in ghosts either and they would openly ridicule his deceased parents for their ghost hunting and research. When his parents were alive, the people weren't even discreet as they mocked them, calling "Town Crazies" to their face.

His parents were brilliant. It's ironic how no one understood that until after their death when the ghost threat came. They didn't appreciate what they had until it was gone. Even then, they are oblivious to the fact that their precious ghost hero used the Fenton's inventions in his fights. Even in death, his parents continue to save them...

Still, it's strange. Danny mused to himself. What Lance had said had left him befuddled and deeply unnerved. When Vlad had first investigated the massacre, the witnesses said they were attacked by masked terrorists waving wooden sticks as their weapon of choice. Now the citizens are claiming that the culprits were ghosts. Why did they think differently now? Oh, let's not forget the added bonus in that they think him/Phantom is dead now… Great, just great. What in the world is going on?

He decided to stop his pointless inner musing, it was doing nothing productive but give him a growing headache.

He rubbed circles on his temple in frustration. It must be the Guys in White, he concluded. Yeah, that's it. The switch in culprits is definitely another elaborate ploy by the incompetent G.I.W. to cover their mess. Most likely another plan to sway the public to be more anti-ghost and provide them with more backing and funds to fuel their future projects.

No matter what the public chose to believe, Danny knew what he saw. It was no ghost. If he were to say, as absurd as it seemed, those men reminded him of wizards.

Danny snorted, silently scolding himself for thinking of something so foolish. There's no way, since wizards don't exist except in children's books.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for waiting patiently for me to write the next chapter. Once again, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and feel free to leave comments. I always love to hear what you all thought of the chapter.
> 
> Till next time~


	11. Voices

**Previously:**

_There's no way, since wizards don't exist except in children's books._

**-PotC-**

Tired of watching the news, Danny got up from the couch and stretched, holding his position until he heard the satisfying pops from his back. While his body was now relaxed, his mind was unable to let go of his feelings of unease.

The room somehow felt small and suffocating. The darkening walls were slowly enclosing around him, trapping him. Voices tittered and mocking laughter echoed and swirled about.

_**Weak. Helpless.** _

The boy's breathing became erratic as his breath came out in small gasps. He forced himself to walk forward.

No, no, no. Not again. He thought he was over this already. He can't deal with this now. He needed to find Vlad, Danny reached for the door but stopped as he realized that Vlad had already left the house.

The boy felt his blood turn cold. Vlad's not here. _I'm alone._

_**Alone.** _

His breath caught, he leaned onto the wall to steady himself, trying to mentally prepare himself for the inevitable torment that was to come. The sounds grew louder, forcing their way into his mind.

_**Useless. Freak.** _

Eerie laughter rang out. He grabbed his shoulders, his back sliding down the wall. The voices began to build in volume.

_**You killed them.** _

_**Should have died then... Not too late to change that.** _

_**Murderer. Pay for your crimes!**_ They roared, the words that lashed out brutally chipped and hacked away at the boy's composure.

The vengeful crowd of overlapping, unidentifiable voices spat out insults laced with spite and hate. They chanted for his blood, demanded retribution. Taunts and jeers swirled and mixed together. Finding and testing for every hurtful remark that could be used to break him.

When the goading was unable to provoke a satisfying reaction out of the boy, the voices switched tactics. Adopting his parents' voices, they called out to his guilt. That he abandoned them, that they were lonely without him. They pleaded for him to join his family and friends.

Danny choked down a sob. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying in vain to block everything out.

For a brief second the voices mercifully stilled. Lead into the false sense of security, Danny allowed himself to relaxed his posture.

A small whisper came, so close, it was as though it was spoken right next to his ear. The boy stiffened. _**No one wants you. Monster.**_

"That's not true...I have Vlad…" Danny's voice was so shaky, even he had a hard time believing himself.

_**If that's true, why isn't he with you now?**_ Said a sickeningly sweet voice. Danny shuddered, it sounded so much like Spectra.

"He's…"

_**See, you're a burden. You're better off dead. Make it easier for him.** _

"No, I can't!" Danny clutched his head, his fingers digging painfully into his scalp. "I have to, I _need_ to be strong!" The boy curled in on himself, trying to shield himself from the onslaught of voices.

_**Not strong. You're weak!**_ They spat.

"That's not true! I won against Pariah!"

_**If that's true… Then why were you defeated by a human? How come you let him take advantage of you... Did you like it? Did you want him to?** _

"No! Never!" The boy furiously shook his head in denial.

_**You're pathetic.**_ They sneered. _**If you're so strong, why are you whimpering over here like a coward? Why aren't you making those men pay for what they have done! Instead, you let others handle your problems.**_

"I want to, but I can't right now."

_**Are you that much of a weakling that you can't do anything yourself. Do you need Vlad to hold your hand every step of the way, Little Boy?** _

"They are out of my league!"

_**...And how do suppose you will change that?** _

With that said, the voices hushed and abruptly left. Leaving him to contemplate what the voices had insinuated. Danny sighed in relief, the room felt normal again.

The voices were never this bad before, it has been over a year since he had his last attack.

He pulled himself off from the floor. Placing a hand on his forehead, he couldn't help but groan to himself. Those last words haunted him. Great, now his mood was ruined.

Taking a deep cleansing breath, Danny decided that he was better off leaving the room to clear his head. He still had a while before dinner before Ferdinand will come looking for him.

**-PotC-**

As Danny walked, he found that his feet lead him to the training room. The halfa smirked. What better way to blow off some steam.

Stepping into the control center of the training room, he made his way to the main computer where he could type in the commands to start the target simulation. He set the simulation to start at level 1 and later be able to adjust the level accordingly with voice command from the inside, he looked across the protected glass to see the white expanse of the simulation room begin to shift. Knowing it as the cue that the program was about to start, he made his way inside and shut the reinforced door behind him.

**Launching Simulation 2.0 AD… Beginning program: Target Practice Level 1 in Five... Four... Three... Two... One.**

The training started out very simple at first with the typical circular stationary targets being destroyed by Danny's onslaught of ectobeams and ectoblasts. As the halfa grew more comfortable and confident, he slowly began to raise the levels.

After he reached level 5, the program altered the pace. The targets morphed into a more humanoid form and began firing back. Caught off guard, Danny yelped and threw himself to the side. A small trail of blood oozed where the beam had grazed his cheek. He rubbed his fist against the cut and resumed the battle against the targets. As the battle grew more heated and intense as painful beams shot towards him, his vision blurred and the targets took on the image of Altair.

Danny gritted his teeth in anger and let out a roar of rage. His attacks grew more brutal and he let out an immense amount of energy in his blasts. Destroying every target in sight, he released his pent up frustration. Shards of broken fragments of the targets littered the ground.

"Too easy." He spat, wiping off a bead of sweat. "Raise to level 20."

He resumed his battle stance, surrounded once more by targets, he continued to inflict devastating amounts of damage to the horde of shooting enemies. Heedless of his rapidly tiring body, he raised the level of the simulation again and again.

Panting heavily in an effort to regain his breath, Danny did not sense the beam that came from behind. Shot in the back, Danny let out a hoarse cry of pain. His knees buckled and the halfa dropped to the ground. He tried to stand but realized that he had overused his energy and his core was spent.

Danny cursed when he saw that he was surrounded by charging guns. Unable to defend himself when the targets fired, Danny's body slammed into the wall. Falling into a heap, the boy spat out some bloody saliva as he shakily hauled himself to his hands and knees.

"...Stop program." He croaked. The room buzzed as the machines whined to a halt.

Danny dropped his gaze, "I failed again…" he said in a soft tone. Bitter tears dripped down to his hands.

He bit his lips hard, "Dammit…Dammit, dammit, **DAMMIT!** " Danny slammed his fist onto the floor.

Danny collapsed his weary body and wept miserably, crying himself to a fatigued sleep.

**-PotC-**

"I'm back!" Vlad called out as he stepped inside the mansion. He waited for an excited 'Welcome home' from his favorite raven-haired boy. Instead, he was greeted by the ghostly servant, Ferdinand.

Vlad frowned, it was uncommon for the boy not to be the first one to race in and welcome him back.

"Where is Daniel?" Vlad asked the ghost.

"Last I know of, Young Master Daniel was in the training room. He has not left for quite some time now. Should I go and retrieve him?"

"No, I will go to him."

"Very well, sir." Ferdinand respectfully bowed and left to resume his other duties.

Vlad wasn't worried, he recalled how earlier Daniel had asked for him to train him. He must have gotten tired of waiting and started without him. He was proven correct as he came upon the unlocked door to the training room. Vlad chuckled as he turned the knob. Teens were always lacking in their patience.

Vlad's good-humored mood dropped as he looked at the glass to view the simulation room.

Danny was laying on the floor, his body unmoving.

"Daniel!" Vlad rushed to the boy's side. He pressed his fingers to Danny's neck. He sighed in relief when he realized that the boy was merely asleep.

He checked over the boy's condition. Vlad's eyebrows furrowed in concern. Danny's pale skin was indeed battered with several bruises from intense training, although he wasn't seriously injured.

The child must have collapsed from exhaustion from over-exerting his core. Vlad made a mental note to himself to add more emphasis to endurance training on his list of training regimes for Daniel. It wouldn't do for the boy to be rendered defenseless in a life-threatening situation only because his core was depleted.

Vlad gently shook the child awake. "Wake up, Little Badger." Danny's eyes scrunched in annoyance and protested weakly with a groan.

"I doubt you find the floor as a comfortable place of rest. I don't know about you, but I would much rather prefer the silk sheets of my bed."

Unable to resume his sleep from Vlad's insistent shakes, Danny slowly eased himself up and rubbed the sleep from his bleary eyes.

"Oh, you're back." Danny mumbled.

Vlad frowned when he caught sight of the dried tear trails on the boy's cheek, evidence that the boy had been crying. "Have you been crying?"

Danny averted his gaze and shrugged his shoulders morosely, not wanting to explain why he had a mental breakdown in the training room.

After a moment, Danny finally broke the silence.

"I'm sorry." Danny whispered, it was so quiet that Vlad almost missed it.

"What are you apologizing for?"

"I couldn't do anything against them...Because of me, I cause so many problems for you. It would be better off to the world if I was dead."

"Now what do you mean by that?" Vlad, in a word, was shocked. He couldn't understand what brought on this side of the boy.

"Everyone I know dies…" _Because of me._ Danny finished the unspoken thought in his head.

Ah, the boy had lost confidence in himself, Vlad realized.

"Not everyone." Danny looked up in confusion.

Vlad continued, "I'm still here. You can't get rid of me that easily." He teasingly poked the boy's nose with his finger.

For a second, the boy blinked owlishly at the man.

A small smile worked its way on the boy. "Hehe, you're right. You're just about as resilient as a cockroach."

"Hey, I take offense to that." Vlad crossed his arms and pouted, "I'm just meticulous in my work."

Seeing Vlad act childish, a small snort escaped from the boy and soon developed into full-blown laughter.

Knowing that he succeeded in calming the child, Vlad thought it was safe to try approaching the sensitive subject again. "Talk to me, Daniel." Vlad sat down on the floor with the boy.

"What happened?" He asked softly and laid his hand on the boy's shoulder.

Danny sighed wearily. "I...had another attack again." He admitted.

Vlad tensed, he should have known. After the death of Daniel's parents, the boy suffered from sleeplessness and depressive episodes. Vlad had at first written it off as shock until the boy started hearing voices.

The psychiatrist had diagnosed Daniel with manic depression.

In the beginning, they boy would have his mood shifts several times a week. With frequent treatments and routine appointments in psychotherapy, they were able to limit the frequency of the sudden depressive mood shifts Danny would have. Vlad was always worried when the boy would have his attacks because the shift would always be coupled with auditory hallucinations and would leave the boy severely troubled and often or not, suicidal.

Vlad embraced the quivering child in a comforting hug, "I'm so sorry, Little Badger. Do you want to talk about it?"

"It wasn't like the others. It was much worse. This time the voices were louder and they were...my parent's." The trembling boy choked out.

Vlad knew how hard it was for the boy and how vulnerable and unsettled the child felt afterward. They had both thought he had finally gotten a hang of his bouts of depression. That he had the breaks in emotion and the accusing voices under control.

After a year of peace, the voices were back with renewed force.

It was typical of their non-existent luck. After the traumatizing encounter with the wizards, Danny must have relapsed from his stable mental state back to the scared, insecure child from the time his family had died.

Vlad scolded himself. He should have known better than to leave the child alone by himself. Especially after surviving from a near-death experience! He should have stayed and comforted the child, made sure that Daniel was okay not just physically but mentally too. Even if the boy didn't admit out loud, it was easy to figure out that Daniel was afraid that the men would return. The child had sought to lessen his insecurities by seeking Vlad's company through training. And the idiot that Vlad was, he didn't notice the boy's pleading hint and brushed him off.

"No Daniel, I should be the one to apologize. I should not have left you alone. How about this, let's get you cleaned up and have dinner together. Afterward, tomorrow I shall oversee your training."

"Really?!" Danny brightened up with excitement.

"Yes. I do have a dinner party at 8 that I must attend to though for a new potential business partner-" He quickly noticed the boy's downcast eyes clouded with disappointment. "-but would you like to go with me? It might not be fun, but since you are my heir and will be succeeding my business in the future, it will be a good experience."

Danny perked up, he wasn't one for social parties but he wanted to be with Vlad. "Yes!"

Vlad smiled warmly at the answer. "Then you will be coming with me to the Dursley's house."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am pleased to announce that I have now officially finished laying out all the groundwork for this story. In other words, the story's plot will now pick up the pace. Yippee! Sorry for my slow pace, but I am not one to rush my stories. I am a firm believer that a rushed book would ruin the overall suspense, thrill, and enjoyment of the readers. Thank you so much for bearing with me.
> 
> Till next time~


	12. Dursleys

**Previously:**

_"Then you will be coming with me to the Dursley's house."_

**-PotC-**

As the day neared the appointed time for the dinner party with the Dursleys, Danny dressed in his formal attire. Since the dinner was purely for professional purposes and Danny was attending as Vlad's heir, he had to dress to reflect positively on Vlad's image.

This party was important because it was a way for Vlad to assess the other company's business potential. If everything went smoothly, Vlad would gain a new business partnership and a large order of drills to be used for Dalv co.

Vlad was already waiting for him at the front hall, the man eyed him appraisingly then grunted in approval.

"Are you ready?" Vlad asked the younger halfa, Danny nodded and walked out to the limousine with Vlad. Carlos respectfully greeted them and helped the two inside, "Where to, sir?"

"Take us to 4 Privet Drive in Little Whinging, Surrey."

**-PotC-**

The two halfas made their way to the front porch of a small suburban house. There was nothing really particular or different about the plain house, it looked the same as all the others on the street of Privet Drive. Vlad was glaring balefully at the building with distaste, clearly, the place was not up to his standards.

Danny was fidgeting nervously next to Vlad, tugging at his sleeves and fiddling with his tie, "Is this the place?" Now that they arrived, the boy wasn't really sure on how he should properly act at the party. Cool and composed or easy-going and pleasant.

Vlad nodded, he then turned to Danny and fixed the boy's crooked necktie. The man glanced at his watch, "Are you ready?"

Danny let out a small huff to calm his nerves, he straightened his posture and clasped his hands firmly behind his back. The younger halfa fixed his face to the Masters' signature mask, one that hid all his intent and emotions for the purpose of intimidation, it came so naturally to him that it made Vlad proud.

Pleased with the boy, Vlad's mouth quirked upwards slightly before it quickly vanished as he assumed his own mask.

The air of power and superiority was so tangible, it appeared to roll off the two halfas in waves as Vlad rang the doorbell. A faint frantic shuffle can be heard from inside as the inhabitants hurriedly got themselves situated to greet their guests.

Due to Danny's advanced hearing, he heard a low hushed voice threaten, "Remember, boy- one sound-" before the door was swung open.

Danny blinked at the massive boy at the door. The tubby kid was so fat, that his dress jacket was pinched tightly together and appeared to be on the verge of ripping at the seams. His neck was virtually indistinguishable from his rolls of fat and made the boy's round head look as though it was balanced on his plump body. His face was tinged pink as though he overexerted himself by merely walking to the door.

The larger, portly man behind the boy wasn't much better off either. The black bow tie he wore seem to be almost suffocating him as it was snug tightly around the folds of his neck. The man had a bushy, black mustache and his small, beady eyes were scrunched in the effort to be a welcoming smile. To Danny, the man only managed to pull off the look as though he was in great pain or constipated with the slight shade of purple his face was turning. If Danny had to describe the man with one word; "walrus" fit the man perfectly.

Danny had to gulp down his grimace when the man wrung his meaty hands together and hungrily looked at the two halfas as though they were a slab of juicy steak, beady eyes gleaming in anticipation of an easy score of the billionaire's money.

"Ah, Mr. Masters! Welcome to our home! Please, come in, come in." The man boomed in an effort to welcome them graciously to his home.

Danny shuffled inside after Vlad. The blonde boy stepped (more like waddled) in front of the two and blocked their path.

"May I take your coats, Mr. Masters and…" The boy trailed off, watery blue eyes locking onto Danny expectantly. The large man grinned proudly at his boy's action. By the boy's fake smile, it was obvious to Danny that the kid must have rehearsed his lines.

"Daniel Masters, but I would prefer to be called Danny," Danny answered.

Mr. Dursley looked at Vlad questioningly, "I wasn't aware that you were married or had a son…"

"Adopted, but he will be succeeding my company after me." Vlad smiled warmly at Danny.

Instantly the man's face lit up and he fixed Danny with a barely concealed calculating look. "Well Daniel, you can call me Vernon and this is my son, Dudley." Apparently, the man must have thought that by sucking up to Vlad Masters' son was an easier way to worm into Vlad's good graces.

Danny twitched in irritation as the man blatantly ignored his request and proceeded to call him 'Daniel'.

"It's nice to meet you, sir," Danny said, straining to sound pleasant. Ugh, he regretted coming here already… These people were getting on his nerves.

"Mr. Masters, you have such a well-mannered son!" The host exclaimed with exaggerated enthusiasm. "You have raised him well. _Better than some other brats I know…_ " He finished darkly. His expression was fixed in a way as though he was thinking of some offensive trash that he would rather not be bothered with.

For a moment, Danny lost his emotionless mask to confusion as he saw Mr. Dursley do a complete 180 with his personality. But as quickly as it came, the utter disgust and hatred were soon replaced with the sickening overly sweet smile. Danny regained his composure, brushing off the strange occurrence as a trick of his mind. The stressful situation was making him paranoid. He barely even knew the man to make any sort of concrete judgment on him yet.

Danny broke out of his train of thoughts when he heard Dudley ask, "May I take your coats, Mr. Masters?"

Again the large man beamed at his son for performing the role of a courteous host flawlessly. He then proceeded to lead the two guests into the lounge.

"This lovely beauty here is my wife, Petunia." Mr. Vernon introduced the woman as she curtsied to the two.

_Beauty?_ Danny thought incredulously. Danny seriously began to question the man's taste. She was anything but 'Beauty'. She had a long, horse-like face and her bony features were exaggerated with the unappealing salmon-pink cocktail dress she wore.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, my lady." Vlad gently took her hand and gave it a chaste kiss. Danny refrained from rolling his eyes at the man's action. It was funny watching Petunia's flustered expression as she blushed pink at the attention.

Vlad and Danny were poured drinks and after some light conversation, they were shown to the dining room. The topics focused mainly on the Dursleys spewing endless compliments at Vlad.

Danny almost lost himself in a fit of laughter when Dudley's comment took the cake with, "We had to write an essay about our hero at school, Mr. Masters, and I wrote about _you_." Seriously? They had just met!

Danny wanted to gag at the obvious display of flattery. They were literally trying to butter Vlad up. He seriously hoped Vlad had enough sense to be able to tell what they were doing.

The group faltered when they heard a particularly loud wail coming from upstairs followed by a series of persistent thumpings.

Mr. Vernon gave a nervous smile. "Dudley must have left his television on again, the little tyke!" He said with gritted teeth before excusing himself from the group and hurrying upstairs.

The man returned a moment later and the conversation resumed.

How long was this party going to take? Danny sighed internally at his misfortune. It wasn't even close to 9 yet and he was already tired. He hoped Vlad would finish up soon so that they can head home. He didn't know how long he was able to last in the company of the Dursleys.

Danny did not notice the small, dark-haired boy with circle-rimmed glasses who was stealthily making his way towards them.

It wasn't until he heard a wet splat and several horrified gasps from the Dursleys, did he turned to see Vlad covered from head to toe in the pudding. The sticky white cream was all over his now ruined suit. Clumps of the dessert were stuck in his hair and goatee and a lone sugared violet decorated the man's head. A plate shattered to the floor and everyone was silent. A boy stood frozen behind Vlad with his arms outstretched.

Danny, to his credit, tried to stop himself. But a mere glance at Vlad's shocked expression, with his mouth agape like a fish out of water, was too much for the boy. Danny's composure quickly unraveled and he burst into fits of giggles. Tears streamed down as the young halfa clutched his stomach.

"The fruitloop is covered in pudding!" He managed to blurt out. For a man who cursed with dessert names, it was strangely fitting to see him covered in it. Unfortunately, Danny was the only one who found amusement in his inner joke.

Vlad shook with barely controlled anger as he pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his face.

Mr. Vernon began to stutter out apologetically, "I'm so sorry, Mr. Masters. Just our nephew - very disturbed - meeting strangers upsets him, so we kept him upstairs… Come, let me help you-"

"No, I do not need your help." Vlad snapped, slapping the other man's hand away. "This household has made enough mockery of me in front of my son and I am appalled by the utter lack of respect you have shown me! I am through!" Vlad raged.

"What about the deal-" Mr. Vernon spluttered, his face paling rapidly.

"Forget the business partnership, Dalv co. will not be buying a single drill from you or your company! Come, Daniel, we're leaving." Vlad stormed out the door with Danny following close behind him.

**-PotC-**

When the two were out of view, Vlad promptly turned himself intangible. The pudding that was adhered to his body collectively dropped to the ground.

Vlad whirled at the young halfa beside him, "Not one word." He growled.

Danny gave an amused smirked in reply. "My lips are sealed."

Vlad missed the crossed fingers hidden behind Danny's back. The boy was brainstorming all the ghosts he could tell if he needed to use this as blackmail material. Vlad's stomach lurched with dread when he heard the muffled snicker.

When Carlos pulled up with their ride, the ghostly driver was smart enough to refrain from questioning Vlad about their early departure from one glance at the stains on his person. The ride back was thick with tension, no one was willing to break the silence to start a conversation with each other. When they arrived back at the mansion, Vlad noticed a small figure heading their way.

He quickened his pace, forcing Danny to speed up with him. Once inside, Vlad sent Danny to his room to turn in for the night. Tired from the entire ordeal, the boy did not put up much resistance and obediently headed upstairs.

Once the boy left, Vlad walked up to the window where a shadowy silhouette waited.

Only the insistent tapping of glass announced the impatient creature's presence. Vlad undid the latch and pushed open the window and a tawny barn owl darted inside.

Landing elegantly on Vlad's waiting arm, the bird eagerly stuck out its leg. Knowing what the expectant bird wanted, Vlad paid the bird and fed it a small treat.

"Thank you for your services." When Vlad reached for the letter, the bird pulled back.

The owl eyed the recipient wearily, "Don't worry, I will make sure that he receives this." He reassured.

The owl paused then hesitantly nodded its head in acceptance. Vlad gently untied the letter from the offered limb. Once free of its burden, the bird took flight into the night sky to resume its duties.

In emerald ink, the mail was addressed to Daniel James Nightingale.

Vlad's grip tightened, "So they know…" Tearing the letter in half, he tossed it into the open flames of the fireplace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think of Danny and Harry's first meeting? Good? Bad? Well, don't worry, Danny will be seeing Harry again soon. With this chapter, this story can now finally own up to its 'HP crossover' tag. The Chamber of Secrets was my favorite of the Harry Potter series so I am definitely having fun incorporating my childhood TV series with it. Did y'all like what I did with Vlad?


	13. Visitors

**Previously:**

_Vlad's grip tightened, "So they know…" Tearing the letter in half, he tossed it into the open flames of the fireplace._

**-PotC-**

The day after the disastrous dinner with the Dursleys, Vlad had his hands full. The worn out halfa was having a very tiring day, he really should have thought things through before he burned that blasted Hogwarts letter. Vlad wasn't a man who dwelled or regretted his actions, so he focused on quickly cleaning up the mess he had caused.

Vlad had no intention of allowing his son to attend that backwater school, Hogwarts, or should he say " _Hogwash_ ". Vlad scoffed, the wizards there still believed that they were the best wizardry school.

He was wrong to think that those barbarians had enough sense to take a hint when he didn't return a confirmation of Daniel's attendance. Of course, the uncivilized wizards are oblivious to the fact that they aren't wanted.

Instead, to Vlad's ever growing headache, those boneheaded teachers of Hogwarts have decided to bombard his home with letters. Cramming them in every nook, cranny, and crevice those feathered cretins could find. Whether it be through his door, windows, vents, etc. It was everywhere! There were even mounds of mail covering his entire lawn and garden!

Thank Clockwork that Daniel was a late riser. He still had time to get rid of all the evidence before the child woke up. He worked too hard to prevent the child from discovering his heritage and the wizardry world. He wasn't about to have his efforts ruined now.

Now he was currently engaged in the grueling menial task of eliminating the oncoming letters by using them as target practice. He even ordered his many ghost servants to help in the endeavor, they were charged to search his home for any leftovers that might have been overlooked. The ghosts also fired non-lethal levels of ectobeams at the birds to scare them away.

Vlad briefly entertained the idea of storming into Hogwarts and giving them a piece of his mind for all the hassle they have caused him. No, it would make too much of a scene. All his previous actions to remain undiscovered will be for naught. Even if the staff at Hogwarts have somehow already discovered their whereabouts, there is no reason for him to advertise their existence to other more potential threats. He needed to find a different, more subtle, course of action.

When he reduced the last of the letters to cinders with a well-aimed pink ectoblast and the final few owls were fleeing for safety, he decided enough was enough. Grabbing one of the stragglers, he restrained the frantically screeching owl.

"I have a job for you." His fangs glinted evilly with his smile. Looking up at the glowing red eyes of the vampire-like figure, the frightened bird could only resign itself to its fate.

Once Vlad had written his note, he released the terrified owl. Feathers came off the stressed bird in clumps and littered his floor. The bird clucked angrily at Vlad, miffed at its unfair treatment for simply doing its job of delivering the man his mail. Resolving to never return to this ungrateful household again, the owl flew into the air to deliver its new cargo in the hopes of finding a more welcoming and appreciative recipient.

Vlad sighed, this time he sent a message to the headmaster explicitly to formally inform him of the oh-so _regretful_ news that Daniel will not be attending Hogwarts. It also requested that they please respect their decision and leave them alone to their peace. Hopefully, this will prevent any further annoyances from Hogwarts.

**-PotC-**

The fourth night after Vlad sent his declaration, the Masters household was graced with a visit by two mysterious strangers.

The pair can only be described as bizarre with just the way they dressed. The pale man with greasy shoulder-length hair wore a long, draping robe that was pitch black as his hair. In stark contrast to the monochrome man, the other had on a robe with bright flashy colors of neon orange and lime green. The elderly man appeared to be wise with age and his silver beard had enough length to be tucked into his belt. Sparkling cerulean, blue eyes were covered behind his spectacles, giving him a kind, grandfatherly appearance that one couldn't help but trust.

They were Potions Master Severus Snape and Headmaster Albus Dumbledore of Hogwarts.

"Tell me again why exactly I must be here." Snape groused to the older man.

"As you know, usually Minerva is the one who confronts the parents of the students who have declined their invitation. Since most of the cases being that the child is muggle-born and they are unaware of the magical world's existence. It is her duty to inform the child and his or her's family that the letter is not a prank of a faux boarding school and of the significance of their child's ability. She must have them become fully aware of the importance that their child enrolls in Hogwarts. However in this case, rather than having the letter unanswered, we have received a letter back. Though sadly informing us of the child's declination to attend Hogwarts."

"That still doesn't answer my question." Snape quipped.

Amused blue eyes twinkled, "The reason? There isn't one, I simply thought I shall enjoy your company today. Besides, you spend too much time in that stifling dungeon of yours. All that potion fumes are bound to affect your health, you need to come outside more and enjoy the fresh air... If you must have a reason for why we are visiting the child's family in person, it has to do with the child's name."

"His name?"

Dumbledore nodded gravely, "The boy's last name is Nightingale."

"Nightingale…" Snape momentarily lost his calm composure as his eyes widen with realization. "Surely not that Nightingale? Are they not believed to be gone?"

"Indeed. Stranger still, the address on the letter states that the child is residing at the Masters Estate."

Snape frowned at this but before he could snap a snide remark, Dumbledore had already rung the doorbell.

A tall servant opened the door and raised a questioning brow at the bizarre dual's odd taste of dress. "Please state your business with the Masters Estate."

"I'm Headmaster Dumbledore and he is Professor Snape. We are from Hogwarts and have come to speak with the head of the Masters household, Vlad Masters."

"One moment please." The servant closed the door on the pair and knocked on the entrance to Vlad's study. "Sir."

"Come in," Vlad answered. "What is it, Ferdinand?"

"You have two guests at the door, Master. Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor Snape from Hogwarts."

Vlad cursed. So the message didn't work after all, sadly he was expecting that. They are a persistent bunch.

"Send them in." He waved the servant away.

Luckily, Daniel was currently training in the lab so he is unaware of the guests. And he will remain unaware if Vlad is able to get rid of the two wizards in time.

It took only a few moments before there was another knock. "Enter."

When the pair walked in, Vlad was already seated at his desk, his fingers interlaced in stern contemplation. Vlad hostilely glared down at the two wizards.

Dumbledore took the antagonistic atmosphere in strides, he wasted no time and stepped up to introduce themselves to their host. "Mr. Masters thank you for-"

"Let's skip the pleasantries and get to the chase, shall we." Vlad cut in. He leaned forward, "Answer me this, how did you find us? Or better yet, how did you get a hold of Daniel's name? Depending on whether your answer reaches my satisfaction, I shall either hear your business or have you escorted out." Vlad demanded.

Snape growled in irritation. The nerve of the man! Who does he think he is to interrogate them so tactlessly?

"Please Mr. Masters, there is no need to be defensive. We are not here to harm you or young Daniel." Dumbledore chuckled amiably as he raised his hands in a non-threatening manner to placate the fuming halfa.

"Answer my question!" Vlad snapped, swiftly pointing his wand at the Headmaster. To retaliate against the aggressive man, Snape made a move to reach for his wand.

"At ease, Severus," Dumbledore stated, his tone now serious.

Hardened coal eyes remained locked at Vlad, coolly analyzing the situation. Relaxing, Snape slowly forgoed his wand.

"At Hogwarts, we have a charmed quill with the purpose of inscribing a record of all the children who exhibits the first signs of coming into their magic and records their name and location. Normally, a child will have unleashed some form of accidental magic at a young age and at the age of 11 they will be sent a letter informing them of our school." The elder explained not at all uncomfortable at being held wand point. "Curiously, in young Daniel's case, he was not given a letter at age 11. In fact, we had no record of him till now. That being said, the only logical conclusion is that his magic was somehow being repressed and was not detected by the quill. We were informed of his existence on the day of the Amity park massacre when his magical abilities were finally able to release. Aren't you from Amity, Mr. Masters?" He asked knowingly.

Vlad remained silent, his mind working through the information given.

 _I was right then_ , Vlad thought grimly, Daniel must have used accidental magic to escape from the Death Eaters. And since that was before he had been adopted, they were able to discover his real name. Vlad let out a weary sigh, he really should have adopted the child earlier, but he was so sure that the boy's ghost powers would have override the chance of Daniel ever discovering his magical abilities. If it weren't for the Death Eater attack, Daniel would still be ignorant of his heritage and safe from harm.

 _Butter biscuits_ , he should have forcefully changed Daniel's name at the first chance he got rather than delay, regardless of what the boy wanted. Vlad tiredly pinched his brow. No use regretting now, what's done is done.

"Even more curious", Dumbledore continued, "It's not like young Daniel is staying at a muggle home. What purpose do you have to not inform your ward of his heritage?"

"Yes, why is that indeed?" Snape drawled, "Isn't the Masters a renown pure-blooded wizard family in the Americas?"

"Why deny him his right, especially with his family being the Nightingales? Why go through all the troubles to keep it a secret from the boy?" Dumbledore asked.

 _Very clever_ , Vlad acknowledge. The man had redirected the questioning onto him. Releasing the wand aimed at Dumbledore, Vlad lowered his stance.

"It was his late parents' wish," Vlad admitted. "I am honoring their hope that their child will remain oblivious to his dark heritage and away from the wizardry world's influence so that he may live a peaceful, happy life, one he will not obtain otherwise. I have failed her time and time again, I have made an oath that I will at least see her last wish through." His tone had softened at the last sentence. Vlad hoped that this would appease the two's curiosity so that they would drop the matter.

Vlad was adamant that he make up for his failure in keeping Maddie safe, even if it meant protecting her son in her steed.

Snape was eerily silent during Vlad's admission. It was strange how similar their situation was. He too had a debt he had to repay for Lily.

"I see. I commend you for your honorable cause, but will you still choose to keep your promise at the cost of young Daniel's life?" Dumbledore asked, successfully regaining the other's attention.

Vlad's icy gaze hardened. " _Pardon?_ "

"You and your child are in grave danger." The man said solemnly.

Vlad chuckled, clearly the elder wizard was grasping at straws now for pulling the 'you're in danger card'.

Vlad narrowed his eyes at the two suspiciously. What's their angle? If they already knew this much, why are they here? What do they have to gain? Why are they so insistent, so _desperate_ that Daniel be in Hogwarts? Actually, why was there a need to send two teachers to them personally in the first place, a headmaster at that? There is clearly more to the picture here.

Time to fish for more information.

"I am not sure about the so-called 'danger' you speak of, but the two of us are perfectly fine where we are. We have no need of your help. I am not planning on allowing Daniel to attend Hogwarts, not now, nor never. What's to say I can't teach Daniel myself? Humor me, even if I were to send Daniel to a wizardry school, why should he have to go to Hogwarts. Why not Ilvermorny?" Vlad smirked when they took the bait.

"Hogwarts is a safe school to attend, there are powerful enchantments and wards in place that not even Voldemort is able to penetrate its defenses."

" _Safe?_ " Scoffed Vlad. "How exactly is your school safe? I believe I heard just last year there was a monstrous three-headed hound, a savage mountain troll, and other potentially hazardous beings on the grounds. Some of which were placed there on purpose by the faculty. I've also heard that you literally had to warn the students to avoid a certain floor if they didn't want to meet, I quote, a ' _most painful death_ '. Tell me again, how Hogwarts is not a danger to the student body?" Vlad asked incredulously.

Snape was amused with Masters' response, he really wasn't that far off. He chose to hold his tongue, wanting to see how Dumbledore would handle these accusations.

"That being the case, Hogwarts is the only place protected from Voldemort's reach." Vlad ignored how casually the man had said the Dark Lord's name without fear as Dumbledore continued speaking. "Which is especially important with your unique 'condition' you share with Daniel."

Vlad was instantly on alert and prepared himself to end the two beings in front of him to keep his guarded secrets. "How do you know about that!?" Vlad demanded as he stood from his seat, his eyes glowed red as he briefly lost his sangfroid. He halted before he was about to strike down the wizards, as another more pressing dilemma surfaced in his mind.

_If Dumbledore knew of their status as halfas, what's to say there are others that know of their existence?_

"Please take a seat, Mr. Masters. There is no need for hostilities. As I said before, we are not here with malicious intent. Let us resume our conversation more civilly."

Vlad slowly sat back down, though he continued to glare at the men warily. "Go on."

"You must already know that the attack on Amity was not caused by terrorists?"

"Death Eaters," Vlad stated.

"Yes, a small band of surviving loyalists to Voldemort. Even after the Dark Lord's absence, they had continued searching for him, believing that he was not dead. To the point of going overseas to look for clues to their lord's whereabouts. They would occasionally stop and indulge in torturing and humiliating muggles for entertainment."

"Hence what happened at Amity." Snape finished distastefully.

Dumbledore gave Vlad a sympathetic look which Vlad pointedly chose to brush aside.

Vlad motioned for the man to carry on. "I have received knowledge that a few of the Death Eaters had finally found Voldemort in the forest of Albania and have made contact with him. They have reported to him on what they have discovered during their search, particularly on how another child has survived the killing curse. That child is Daniel."

Although Vlad knew of Daniel's confrontation with the Death Eaters, he was unaware to that Danny had survived the killing curse. Granted, he wasn't about to let them know his surprise. "Let's say perhaps all that you said is true. Last I heard, the Dark Lord is dead, do you have any proof to prove otherwise?"

Dumbledore looked towards Snape and nodded. "What we are about to show you is strictly confidential. We are willing to show you this to prove our goodwill to you so that you may feel at ease to trust us. Even if you decide to refuse our help, do you swear on your magic to not tell a soul on what you hear and see?"

"I, Vlad Masters, swear on my magic to not tell a soul about what I am about to hear and see, so mote it be." Vlad glowed a faint pink. It wasn't hard for him to make the oath because even if he were to break it, he would still have his ghost powers. He just loved loopholes.

"Severus used to be a Death Eater. Due to an unfortunate circumstance, he is now serving as a double agent to spy on the Dark Lord for us." Snape pulled up his sleeve to reveal the faint outline of the Dark mark on his forearm. "As you can see, the mark is slowly darkening, signifying Voldemort's growing power."

Vlad was silent as he examined the mark, then he met Dumbledore's gaze, "Do you trust this man?"

"With my life."

Vlad nodded in acknowledgment, "I believe you."

Now that the issue of trust was dealt with, Dumbledore resumed his explanations. "While Voldemort does not yet know of your status as halfas, he does know Daniel's identity as a Nightingale. It is only a matter of time before he comes to forcefully recruit Daniel to join his ranks or kill him to finish what his followers have failed to do."

Ah ha, Vlad smirked. He finally found their true reason. He leaned back in his seat, comfortable now that he felt more in control. They weren't solely here from the goodness of their hearts to provide Daniel with an education for his wellbeing. No, it was for a more selfish purpose. They didn't want Daniel to fall into the hands of the Dark Lord and give him more power and another piece to control. Why give the enemy more advantage when you can nip the escalating problem at the bud and possibly gain another ally to boot.

Now that he knew their motive, he knew just how he can use and manipulate this to a more beneficial asset for him. If the Dark Lord was truly after them, what better place to hide then at Hogwarts which is known as the one true impenetrable safe haven from the Dark Lord. Why not hide in plain sight with the one man that the Dark Lord feared.

That being said, he wasn't about to let the others get what they want that easily. No, he was going to get back at them for all the mental turmoil they have caused him.

"Alright." Vlad conceded. To Vlad's irritation, Dumbledore's blue eyes began to twinkle. Before the other could speak, Vlad pressed on, "I will allow Daniel to enroll in Hogwarts, but on several conditions. First, I shall accompany Daniel to Hogwarts since I need to keep an eye on him, he is the only family I have left and I can't have him blowing our secret. Second, No one else is to learn that we are halfas. Third, Daniel will go by 'Daniel Masters'. Fourth, I want the right for Daniel and me to leave whenever we deem your hospitality as unsuitable to our safety. Fifth, I will need my own private quarters and a place to keep my lab. And finally, I shall have the right to pull Daniel from any of his classes to train with him. Just because he is at a school for wizards, I will not have him slacking on improving his ghost abilities. Are these terms agreeable to you?"

"Excellent, these terms are fine. I can offer you a teaching position at Hogwarts so that you may keep an eye on your ward. Will Muggle Studies do since you have done fairly well posing as a muggle for several years?"

"That is acceptable. Please wait here while I bring Daniel."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank everyone for the beautiful reviews! I'm glad you enjoyed the previous chapter with the fruitloop and pudding.
> 
> Unfortunately, my dear readers, Danny will not be busting Harry out from the Dursleys. He had just met them, and Harry albeit briefly during all the commotion. While they are now acquaintances, they are still not friends. Danny does not know Harry well enough yet to fully understand Harry's home circumstances. So I will leave the rescuing to the Weasleys and their flying car. Granted, Danny and Harry will have a more formal meeting soon. Sorry guys, it just wouldn't make much sense otherwise with how I have everything planned.
> 
> I don't know if I already said this before but I do apologize in advance for any OOC-ness, granted this is an AU so it should be a given that there is bound to be some in the future (besides I already mentioned that this theme will be dark).
> 
> Till next time~


	14. Heritage

**Previously:**

_"That is acceptable. Please wait here while I bring Daniel."_

**-PotC-**

Danny was currently in the training room practicing his meditation and breathing exercises he learned from Frostbite.

He had been introduced to the denizens of the Far Frozen the day before and was a little overwhelmed with all the attention and praise they gave him. Although he felt honored by the yeti-like ghosts, he was honestly uncomfortable with being revered and called the "Great One" by so many ghosts. Heck, they even had an entire cave made depicting all his heroic actions he had accomplished.

Of course, the Fruitloop greatly enjoyed his discomfort at the situation and leaped at the chance to tease and poke fun at his reactions. It wasn't until Vlad annoyed him enough and Danny's eyes glowed a fierce green (in what Vlad later dubbed 'the scary eyes') did the older halfa finally stop in his mocking jest. But not without a final, "Okay I will stop, **_Great One_**." Danny could only mumble an exasperated retort back.

He had a good time in the Ghost Zone, even if the last conversation he had with Frostbite was unsettling.

**-PotC-**

**_"Great One, are you truly happy being under the tutelage of Plasmius?" Frostbite suddenly asked Danny. Danny was currently sparring with the larger ghost (he was restricted in only being allowed to use his new ice abilities until he became more accustomed to releasing his ecto-ice reflexively) and was caught off guard by the sudden question. He was slammed with a powerful blast to the gut and fell into the soft snow drift, creating a humanoid indention in the snow. Frostbite helped pull him back to his feet._ **

**_"Yeah, he may look all 'villainy' and evil at first, but he really is a nice guy. I mean he took me in and everything when I had nothing left after losing my family. I guess you can say he is the best thing that ever happened to me since the accident. Why do you ask?" Danny brushed off the snow in his hair before looking back up at the large yeti ghost._ **

**_"I see. It is just that I wanted to warn you that Plasmius is more than he seems and is hiding plenty of secrets. But it seems to me that I have nothing to worry about."_ **

**_"Thanks for the thought but you have no need to worry. Right now, it's more to the point that Vlad is being unreasonable with his over protectiveness. He won't even let me leave the mansion unless it's for training or if I'm with him. Besides, everyone keeps secrets and more importantly, I trust Vlad. I guess it would be more accurate to say, he's the only one I can trust. What brought this on, if you don't mind me asking?"_ **

**_"Seeing you and Plasmius interact is really heartwarming to see. It relieves me to know that he was being truthful when he said that the Great One was truly staying with him willingly as his son. When your father first came to us seeking our help, I didn't know what to think at first. Honestly, I thought for sure he was another ghost after the Infi-map. He is known throughout the ghost zone for having a massive following of ghosts under his service-"_ **

**_"Daniel! Come on, it's time for us to leave." Vlad called._ **

**_"Coming!" Danny shouted out. Danny turned back to Frostbite, "It was nice talking with you, Frostbite, but I have to go now before the Cheesehead blows a gasket, him being all uptight with his schedule and all."_ **

**_Frostbite chuckled at the young halfa, "Well we can't have that. I enjoyed your company too, Great One. Let me escort you back to your ward."_ **

**-PotC-**

Danny shook his head, mentally berating himself for losing his focus. He breathed deeply in through his nose and resumed his meditation.

He was in the middle of training his mind. Without constant, unwavering vigilance and iron control over his emotions, his hold over his ghost core would become unstable. Which will then cause his ice powers to leak and act out sporadically.

When he was first introduced to Frostbite and his people, they had sent him into the medical chamber for a quick check-up. Vlad's institution was proven correct in that Danny had an ice core and that was what caused the emergence of his new ice abilities which froze Spectra. His core had finally matured enough for him to manifest his inner ice physically. Apparently, his chilly, unique ghost-sense was also another byproduct of his ice core too. It explained why his breath will come out in cold wisps whenever he was in the presence of another ghost.

He was lucky in that he was able to find a mentor early on to help coach him on using his budding powers properly. If left to his own devices, he was told that his icy core would have fluctuated and caused him innumerable amounts of problems, ranging from intense cold flashes, random frost build-up on his body, freezing his surroundings (including other living beings), to even causing small snow storms and blizzards in his vicinity. In order to prevent any chance of this happening, Danny was dedicating himself to his practice exercises.

While he was shaping a small piece of ice into several different and complex forms, he felt a sudden presence appear behind him.

Startled, he gave a small shriek. Dropping the delicately figured sculpture, it shattered into several tiny fragments onto the hard floor. A deep, baritone laugh could be heard. Danny glared at his father angrily, flashing his 'scary eyes' to show the man that he was not amused. He had worked hard on that ice sculpture, finally managing to shape it into a beautiful rose. The Cheesehead had definitely surprised him on purpose!

"Did you really have to teleport in here? Can't you use the door like a normal person?" The younger halfa grumbled.

"No, that would be impractical. Why should I not use my superior abilities whenever I please?"

"Hmm, I don't know, maybe it can be considered as _abusing_ your powers."

Vlad gave Danny a mock look of aghast, "Nonsense, why should I condemn myself to the likes of the lower class?"

"No Father, that's called being a human."

Vlad grinned, "We are not human, though."

Danny slapped a palm on his face and groaned, "I apologize if the concept of conserving your powers is too hard for you to wrap your inflated ego around. It must truly be painful for you to lower yourself to human standards. Please forgive my audacity, my apparent better." He gave an exaggerated bow to the older halfa.

Vlad frowned while Danny grinned victoriously. "Enough with the banter, I need you to come with me. I have some important business that I need to discuss with you upstairs."

"So you didn't come here to chat with little ol' me?" Danny said cheekily. Vlad ignored him and proceeded to walk out the room. Turning off the lights to the training room, Danny trailed after him.

When they came upon the study, Vlad glanced down at the boy. "There are some guests that I want you to meet." He then pushed open the door.

Danny blinked, then blinked again. There sitting comfortably on the chesterfield sofa were two "wizards" (or what he assumed from their odd clothing style. They had the robes and wands, all they were missing was the pointy wizard's hat to finish the picture). The darker man had sickly, pale pallor with greasy, black hair, while the other guest differed greatly by wearing a robe that had two very loud, contrasting colors of neon orange and green. The peculiar combination was so revolting, it should have made Vlad gag in disgust. Why would Vlad allow _wizards_ into the mansion, it wasn't like he was hosting a child's birthday party today.

Did he miss something important or was Vlad pulling his leg? The boy was utterly confused.

Danny rubbed his eyes in case his mind was playing tricks on him. When nothing changed, he pointed a finger at the ridiculously costumed pair and opened his mouth to speak. Unable to form the right words to even describe his greatly confused mind state nor the myriad of questions he had, he paused a moment to gather his scattered thoughts and resumed to ask Vlad, in the most intelligent way he could muster. "Um, who are they?"

"They are Headmaster Albus Dumbledore and Potion Master Severus Snape from Hogwarts." The two mentioned rose to their feet.

The grandfatherly man smiled kindly at Danny, "Ah, you must be Daniel. I have heard so much about you, it is a pleasure to finally meet you," he greeted with twinkling eyes.

"Uh, hi? P-please, call me Danny." Danny stammered back, still unsure of their purpose to why they were here. How did they know of him and what is their relation with Vlad?

"What's with the getup?" He asked it was hard not to overlook the skepticism in his voice. He did not miss the scolding glare Vlad sent his way for the blatantly rude question.

Dumbledore was not bothered, for the child was young and is it not in their nature to be curious. "We are dressed this way because my companion and I are wizards. We come from a wizardry school, known as Hogwarts, and it is our duty to teach the young new witches and wizards magic."

Danny's eyes bugged in disbelief. _Okay then…_ How exactly was he supposed to react to that? What in the world is going on? It's not every day he had random people coming up to him announcing that they are wizards and that magic is apparently real!

"So you're wizards and magic exists?" He said dubiously, "You're kidding right? Is this a joke? Did Vlad hire you?" When no one answered back, Danny turned to Vlad, "You don't expect me to believe this, do you?"

"No, they are not joking and what they say is true. You will be enrolling in Hogwarts as a second year." His father stoically replied.

"Perhaps, this will help." Headmaster Dumbledore pulled out an envelope and handed it to Danny.

It read:

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL**

**_of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY**

**Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore**

**_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)_ **

**Dear Mr. Nightingale,**

**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1.**

**Yours sincerely,**

**Minerva McGonagall,**

**_Deputy Headmistress_ **

Another sheet of parchment read:

**UNIFORM**

**All students will require:**

**Three sets of plain work robes (black)**

**One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear**

**One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide of similar)**

**One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)**

**COURSE BOOKS**

**Second-year students should have a copy of each of the following:**

**_The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2_ by Miranda Goshawk**

**_Break with a Banshee_ by Gilderoy Lockhart**

**_Gadding with Ghouls_ by Gilderoy Lockhart**

**_Holidays with Hags_ by Gilderoy Lockhart**

**_Travels with Trolls_ by Gilderoy Lockhart**

**_Voyages with Vampires_ by Gilderoy Lockhart**

**_Wanderings with Werewolves_ by Gilderoy Lockhart**

**_Year with the Yeti_ by Gilderoy Lockhart**

**OTHER EQUIPMENT**

**1 wand**

**1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)**

**1 set glass or crystal phials**

**1 telescope**

**1 set brass scales**

**Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad**

"Wait, wait, wait. Backup. Now you're telling me that I'm a wizard." Danny stepped back from the group. "There's got to be a mistake, I can't be a wizard."

"I can assure you that there is no mistake," Snape answered, his tone irate at the child's refusal to see the truth.

"Usually we would know when a child is a wizard before the age of 11 when they first use accidental magic, but in your case, you had your magic suppressed due to your ghost powers. That is why we did not know you were a wizard until now." Dumbledore explained to the shaking child.

Danny flinched. They knew about his powers! They knew he was part-ghost! As if reading his thoughts, Vlad nodded his head in confirmation.

"Father, please tell them to leave." Danny pleaded, _Please tell me this isn't true._ When Vlad refused to budge in his stance and made no move to send the men away, Danny bowed his head in resignation.

"You are aware that your family was called another name before taking the muggle title 'Fenton'."

"Nightingale..." Danny breathed out, having no clue on why his last name was relevant to their current topic. He then realized something odd with the man's word choice. "Muggle?"

"Muggle is the term used to describe nonmagic people."

Danny took in a sharp intake of air as his eyes widened with dawning comprehension, "You don't mean to say…"

"Your parents were also wizards, Daniel." Dumbledore finished for him.

"Why wasn't I told this before?" Danny asked.

"That's something you should be asking your guardian." Snape drawled, glancing in Vlad's direction. The older halfa's eyelid twitched in irritation at the unappreciated comment, which was something Daniel did not need to know.

Seeing the boy's confusion, Vlad decided to take it upon himself to rectify the matter. "I believe it would be in our best interest for me to clarify. I will tell you the **_true_** tale of the Nightingales, not the biased trash those ignorant fools concocted." He said while sending a meaningful look at the other wizards to stay silent.

He did not need them telling Daniel the lies that the wizardry community created. He will tell the boy the true story of his family. One that he had learned from Maddie when they were children and she has finally trusted him enough to open up and impart on him the tale.

Dumbledore and Snape were interested in what the man had to say, so they also listened with rapt attention.

"You are the descendant of noble German pure-blooded wizard family who immigrated to North America. The early Nightingales were renowned Scourers in the early 1600s."

"Scourers?"

"They were bounty hunters," Snape answered.

"Yes, the Nightingales were Scourers who practiced the Dark Arts. What made the Nightingales the most feared is that they were Dark wizards who were proficient in Soul magic and they had a unique skill to tame and control wild dark creatures, those of which were considered highly dangerous and impossible to tame. They have invented many atrocious Dark spells, some of which rivaled those created by the vile Herpo the Foul."

"But that isn't to say the Nightingales were evil, they experimented with the Dark Arts in order to learn from it, in doing so, they had managed to create many new counter spells." He sent a dark glare at Snape. Snape seemed non-repulsed at the accusatory glare and merely urged Vlad to continue with a raised eyebrow.

"Sadly, the Nightingales' Dark spells were leaked to unknown sources and were abused and used with malicious intent. Many innocent wizards were harmed and killed by the spells they had created. By that time, Scourers started to lose their good reputation in the North American Wizardry community as more and more of them became corrupt and cruel. Several Scourers became drunk with their unmatched authority and power, they started hunting down other wizards besides criminals for profit, to the point of selling off their fellow magical beings in wizard trafficking."

"Although the Nightingales did not participate in the crimes of wizard trafficking nor perform torture like the other Scourers, they were still a Dark family and considered a menace, causing them to be discriminated by the other wizards in Salem, Massachusetts."

"When the Magical Congress of the United States of America (or MACUSA) was formed, people falsely blamed the Nightingales for crimes they didn't commit. Crimes their invented spells had caused. When your parents were in their late teens, the Nightingales were put to trial and exiled to Amity Park, Illinois."

"By then, many of the Nightingales were killed off due to the revenge-seeking vigilantes till only your parents were left. When they were exiled, they changed their name from 'Nightingale' to 'Fenton'. Amity Park was considered as a 'No Man's Land' of the Wizarding World due to it being the most haunted place in the world as it had the largest concentration of spirits, shades, specters, and revenants. More specifically, it was known for the special breed of violent ghosts that inhabited there. These ghostly entities are unusually powerful, uniquely physical, and highly dangerous, causing even muggles to be able to see them."

"But this did nothing to deter the Fentons from their research, in fact, it sparked an intense interest to study these unique beings. Moving away from their current studies on creating new dark spells, the Fentons have decided to turn their focus onto Soul magic. They were recently striving to create a manmade portal to the Land of the Dead or "Ghost Zone" as they had called it until their death two years ago from an accidental explosion in their lab." Vlad finished solemnly.

Danny finally understood why Altair had made such a big deal about killing him. He shivered slightly as he recalled how close he was to a complete death. He snapped out of his thoughts when Dumbledore clapped his hands together.

"My boy, while that was enlightening to hear, are you excited to go to school now that you have confirmed that you are indeed a wizard?"

Instead of being excited at the prospect of being a wizard, the boy was ashamed and revolted. When he became a halfa, he was comforted by the fact that he was at least part human. He felt miserable that he became more of a monster now that he had lost the last sense of normalcy he had left. His human half wasn't normal at all. _I'm more of a freak than I thought I was! Is that the reason why the man was so intent on torturing me!_

"Excited?" Danny repeated, "Why should I be excited?"

Dumbledore was the only one who seemed genuinely shocked at the boy's reaction. "What do you mean?"

Snape rolled his eyes, _it should be fairly obvious why. The boy just recently discovered the reason why he is hunted down, and let's not also forget his parents and his guardian has been lying to him all these years._

"You think I am happy to have my whole world turned upside down. My relatively peaceful life, that I have finally managed to get after my family's death, is now a downhill spiral. My hometown has been burned down and brutally massacred, a homicidal maniac tried to torture me to death because of my name. _He freakin branded me!_ Now I have random people parading into my home declaring that I'm not even human, but a wizard. That being said, I'm considered evil by something I have no control over other than whose blood I share and what abilities I possibly may or may not have. So no, I am not excited. I refuse to go to a school full of the beings that were the cause of my family being _hunted down_ and _exiled_." Danny ranted, all his earlier frustrations pouring out with his statement.

"That's the thing, Daniel," Vlad interjected. "You have no choice in the matter."

"What do you mean, I have no choice," Danny growled.

"That man who tortured you, he and his men are still after you. You are in more danger than we anticipated."

"What does that have anything…" Danny groaned in defeat, "Don't tell me, they were wizards too?!"

"Indeed." Dumbledore replied, "The group who attacked you are known as Death Eaters. They are a group of loyalists serving under the Dark Lord, Voldemort."

"Pfft, Voldy-what? What kind of ridiculous name is that?! They seriously work under a man named Moldymort?" Danny laughed.

"Voldemort." Vlad corrected.

"Ehh, whatever. Moldymort sounds better." He shrugged, not really bothering to care to learn the most feared wizard's name.

Snape grimaced at the flippant way the boy insulted the Dark Lord. Either the boy was extremely courageous or he had a death wish. Not that he cared…

Dumbledore cleared his throat to regain the boy's straying attention. "Most of the Death Eaters have been rounded up and sent to Azkaban by the Aurors. The aurors has also performed memory charms on the surviving civilians of Amity Park to maintain the status of secrecy. Erasing all the memories involving the existence of magic or their confrontation with the Death Eaters."

"So that's why the people on the news believed they were attacked by ghosts! Was one of the Death Eaters you guys captured named Altair?" Hey, a halfa could hope.

"I do not recall a man by that name."

Danny frowned, _well darn_.

"Daniel, if I could, I would much rather have you homeschooled than forcing you to go to a school against your will. Unfortunately, my hands are tied and we are out of options. Hogwarts is the only place safe from Voldemort and his men." Vlad acknowledged.

Danny sighed. Guess there is nothing else he could do. "Fine… Can I at least go by 'Masters' instead of 'Nightingale'? I'd rather not have anyone trying to kill me on my first day."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled gleefully, "That can be easily managed. You do not need to worry, your father has already asked this of us. All that's left for us to do is to have Mr. Masters sorted into his house."

"Me too?" Danny asked.

"You will be sorted at the start of the term with the first-years."

Danny gulped, he had to be sorted in front of the _entire_ school?!

The elderly man summoned an old, ratty hat out of seeming nowhere, the hat was battered, frayed, and had a mass of patches covering the dusty, brown fabric. Rather than being awed at the use of magic, Danny could only think, _there's the missing wizard's hat, called it!_

"Hogwarts is separated into four houses, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. The Sorting Hat will decide based on your character which house you shall be staying in."

Vlad spluttered in disdain, "You have a hat decide one of the most critically important deciding factors of a student's school life. Besides which, at such a young age their personality is not set in stone, a child's current character doesn't reflect on their potential to change. What's to say their personality won't be altered later on?"

"Are you going to put the hat on anytime soon? Some of us haven't got all day." Professor Snape snapped at Vlad, his patience already wearing thin.

Narrowing his eyes at Snape, Vlad roughly grabbed the hat out of Dumbledore's hand. Upon closer examination, his nose furrowed, "Has this thing even been washed? Look at the amount of dirt accumulated on this thing, and you expect me to place this on my head?" He then continued to grumble about lice and hygiene as he placed the hat on his head. Danny giggled at Vlad's antics.

Danny jolted in surprise when the hat suddenly moved. A seam ripped open along the brim and a new voice came out from the mouth-like tear. "My, my. Aren't you a rude one?"

The hat was talking. _Okay_ , who snuck the ghost mushrooms into his morning tea. Great, if a hat can talk, what's next? A talking portrait?

Although Vlad stiffened at the intrusive presence in his head, he was otherwise not surprised. Unlike Daniel, he lived his entire childhood within the wizardry community and these strange occurrences were not uncommon.

A soft voice whispered at a volume only he could hear, _"Hmm. Interesting... A shrewd schemer, very good at manipulating others to do your bidding. Excellent at planning strategies, has an immense talent at leading, and perhaps teaching. Not above using cutthroat tactics, unethical practices, and illegal operations to maintain success. Oh ho, so you overshadowed other businessmen to kick start your business."_

_"Don't you dare-"_ Vlad threatened.

_"You do not need to worry, I am not at liberty to disclose any information I may gather from your mind. It's strictly confidential… But still, if the boy were to know how you amassed a fortune, I doubt he would still think highly of you anymore."_ The hat groused.

_"Shut up."_

_"You know, it's a pretty dick move to try and steal your best friend's wife."_

_"Screw you, I loved Maddie first. Even before that idiot realized how he felt about her."_

_"Ah huh, says the man who proceeded to stalk the women for the next decade."_ The hat deadpanned.

"How dare you! I will burn you!" Vlad screeched in rage. He threw the hat onto the ground and proceeded to make a move to stomp on it. He had to be restrained by both Dumbledore and Snape to prevent him from damaging their precious property.

_"There's no doubt, better be_ SLYTHERIN!" The hat shouted with finality.

"Rather fitting." Professor Snape griped. Once the enraged halfa calmed down, the two released his arms. Danny picked up the fallen hat, dusted it off, and handed it back to Headmaster Dumbledore.

"You will be in the same house as Professor Snape. I hope you two will get along splendidly for the school year." _Not likely_. Vlad muttered heatedly, he was not fond of being in the same house as Snape. He still held a grudge on the man for helping the elder wizard push his hand. Just because the two promised to keep Daniel's and his halfa status a secret, doesn't mean he liked the idea that they know of it in the first place.

"If you have any future questions, feel free to ask him if I am unavailable. It's about time we make our leave." Dumbledore announced, walking past Danny and Vlad to the door with Snape following behind him.

Vlad grumbled quietly how the two had overstayed their welcome, luckily only Danny heard. The boy was about to elbow the man in the gut before he felt someone touch his shoulder. "I will see you in class," Snape told his farewell to the boy.

"Goodbye professor," Danny answered back politely.

Before Danny could say anything else, Vlad had to butt in with his 2 cents. "Don't touch my son so casually. And what do you mean 'see you in class'? You haven't even seen his schedule yet!"

Danny groaned, of all times why does Vlad's possessiveness have to kick in now, at his teacher too! It was like the man always had to one up his opponents, whether it be his enemies, business partners, or even his son's teachers.

To the man's credit, Snape wasn't deterred in the slightest at Vlad's open hostility. Instead, he smirked. "Why I thought you knew. Every second-year student at Hogwarts is required to take potions, so it's not strange to assume that I will be seeing him again. I might even be his Head of House if he is sorted into Slytherin. Besides… If I'm not correct, Daniel will not be in any of your classes since Muggle Studies are for _third-years and up_." He triumphantly informed Vlad, relishing in the slightly panicked look that flickered across the other man's face.

"I wasn't aware that Muggle Studies are not for second-years! You know what, I change my mind, I demand an alternate teaching position. Maybe Defense Against the Dark Arts or History of Magic."

Dumbledore decided it was about time for him to get between the bickering two and quickly diffuse the situation before it could escalate into something worse. He had finally gotten Mr. Masters to agree on letting his son attend Hogwarts, he didn't need for him to change his mind now. "I sincerely apologize Mr. Masters, but DADA has already been assigned with a suitable teacher and our resident ghost, Mr. Binns, has been teaching History of Magic wonderfully for many years."

"How about a side position in-"

"Besides you have already been sorted so there is no going back now. Goodbye." With that said, Dumbledore grabbed Professor Snape's arm and swiftly apparated away with a small 'pop'.

Danny sweat dropped at how quickly the two wizards had fled the scene, he thought Vlad would be upset at their sudden departure (most likely to prevent Vlad from going back on his word) but his father instead was rubbing his chin in a pensive manner. By the expression, Danny knew that the man wasn't planning anything good.

Vlad hummed thoughtfully. _A ghost huh, it won't be too hard to persuade it to allow another co-teacher to teach his class, if not I can always convince it to retire early… Nothing says I can't teach more than one curriculum._

"Before you go, Vlad, can I have a moment?"

"What is it, Daniel?"

"I didn't bring this up earlier because we had company, so I waited till after they had left… You knew all this time and you didn't tell me?" Vlad flinched at the intense amount of hurt and betrayal that could be heard in the boy's tone.

"Yes, I knew the entire time." He confessed quietly.

"Why, though? Why did you hide this from me?"

"Maddie... your parents raised you and your sister as muggles because they didn't want to burden you with the truth. They were ostracized by the wizardry community for their magic. They wanted their children to retain their innocence and enjoy the childhood they could not have. Your parents tried to protect you from the pain that knowing your heritage would give you. Other wizards would claim you dangerous and will hunt you down in droves, for many feared the Nightingales and their magic. Rather than give society another reason to scorn their children, they chose to isolate themselves away from the wizards. Hiding in plain sight as muggles and passing themselves off as crazy ghost hunters to avoid suspicion, it was all done to protect you. I couldn't bring myself to destroy their efforts, so I continued their wish for them."

Tears welled as Danny finally understood the reason for all the suffering his parents had to endure at Amity. He reflected on how whenever he had asked them why they did nothing to stop the snide remarks, to prove to the others that their inventions worked, and they were not frauds, they would just smile and say **_"Leave them be, Danny. It's fine as long as we are working for what we love."_** He had believed they meant their love of ghosts, but he was wrong.

All that hate and spite that his parents were burdened with, they did it all for him.

"I understand. I am willing to forgive you but I'm not going to forget anytime soon. It still hurts to know that you have been lying to me constantly for 2 years. I will put this behind me if you can promise me one thing. Promise me, that there will be no more secrets between us."

Vlad raised his head sharply in surprise, he opened his mouth to demand that he did not owe the boy anything, but with one look at the child, the half-formed words died in his throat. "...I promise."

Danny gave Vlad a small hug, "And Daniel." The boy looked up, "If it helps, I'm sorry… for everything I have done. I was only trying to protect you, but I apologize that I only managed to hurt you instead."

Danny smiled sadly at Vlad, "Me too." Vlad blinked in confusion. "I'm sorry you had to go through all this for me." With that said, Danny walked out the room.

Vlad remained standing where he was. In the soft light of the fireplace, a lone tear can be seen trailing down. Once he made sure that the child was out of earshot, he spoke out loud.

"I'm sorry Daniel, but that's the only promise I can't keep... since I haven't stopped lying to you. I have not told you everything yet, and I probably never will. For if I did, you'll leave me and I can't have that."


	15. Wands

**Previously:**

_"I have not told you everything yet, and I probably never will. For if I did, you'll leave me and I can't have that."_

**-PotC-**

Rubbing his hands together, the figure let out an evil cackle. He still had a bunch of work to do before the night was up.

An electric razor whirled to life and glowing eyes allowed him to see perfectly in the darkness. Pouring the shaven hair into a container of bleach, he left it to soak.

Sneaking into the kitchen, he found what he was looking for. A small box and a nice big jar of hot peppers. A crazed smile spread across the boy's face as he chuckled gleefully. "Perfect~"

He carefully smeared the juice on all the door handles of the mansion, making sure to thoroughly wash it off his hands when he was done. Next, he grabbed several large bags of fluffy white balls and a bucket of water. Flying invisible, he stealthy made his way towards the garage. Once there, he submerged the items into the water and began to stick them onto his target. When he placed the last one, he used his ice powers to cool the air and speed up the process.

Retrieving the container of bleach, he drained out all the fluid till only his precious goodies were left. He chopped the hair into fine pieces so that it was only barely noticeable to the eye if one were to actively search for it. Careful not to wake the unaware sleeping man, he strategically scattered the powder in the drawers and wardrobe.

The traps were all set.

"Now to wait for the prey." The boy let out a malicious chuckle as he rubbed his hands together evilly. If anyone was there to witness the plotting child, they would have fled the room swiftly in fear.

**-PotC-**

Danny was sleeping peacefully in his bed. The soft morning sunlight was streaming in from the cracks of the curtains onto his face. He squinted his eyes tighter but otherwise made no move to get out of bed. A couple of terse knocks sounded from the other side of his door.

"Young master, it is time for you to wake up." Ferdinand's bored voice called.

"Five more minutes…" Danny drowsily mumbled out. He turned, pulling his covers along with him. Once he was comfortable, he drifted back to dreamland.

**-PotC-**

Vlad wasn't having the best of mornings.

He was vexed and more paranoid than usual. The past few days have been rough for him. He was being dogged by a streak of bad luck and he is damn sure it wasn't a mere coincidence. What was more troubling, he had an odd persistent feeling of trepidation that the worst was yet to come.

Vlad spotted his servant, Ferdinand standing idle out in the hall. "What seems to be the problem?"

"Good morning, Master." The ghost bowed, "Young master Daniel refuses to wake up."

Vlad smiled in understanding, "I got this, go prepare for today's trip."

Hearing confirmation that the ghost understood his order, Vlad turned the door handle and walked in. His lips quirked upward at the sight. The boy was snuggled up in his bed snoring softly without a care in the world, evident by the peacefully content expression.

Vlad crept forward and placed a hand on the bed frame, he turned the entire bed intangible. The boy sunk through the mattress with an indignant yelp as he hit the floor. Danny's head resurfaced from underneath the bed, his raven hair was disheveled from sleep and his bangs fell messily in front of his eyes. Danny pushed back his bangs and glowered darkly at Vlad.

"What was that for?" Danny huffed, his mood sour from the abrupt awakening.

"You took too long. Get dressed and come downstairs for breakfast." Without waiting for a reply, the man promptly left the room.

Vlad was already seated at the dining table by the time Danny was finished with his morning routine. A servant pulled the chair out for Danny while another placed his breakfast of spinach and bacon omelet in front of him.

Reading the newspaper, Vlad reached out to grab the pepper shaker. With a single shake, the loose cap popped off, dumping its entire content onto Vlad's plate. Caught off guard, Vlad wasn't able to avoid the onslaught of seasoning and inhaled the cloud of black pepper, causing him to sneeze and cough uncontrollably.

Once the plume of pepper and his sneezing fits dissipated, he moved to rub the small tears from the corner of his eyes. Much to his horror, the second his skin made contact with his eyes, it worsened. Tears streamed down as the stinging began to build into an intense burning sensation the more he rubbed.

Standing abruptly from his seat, Vlad rushed to the sink to rinse out his irritated eyes. He splashed the cool liquid to his poor abused eyes to relieve them of the pain. Turning off the water, he towel dried his face.

Glancing briefly into the mirror, he examined the damage. His eyes were flushed and red-rimmed from the ordeal and Vlad suspected that this was not an accident but another planned sabotage. When he sniffed his hands he grimaced. As he thought, it smelled faintly of pepper juice. He will have to order the servants to wipe down all the door handles later.

He held a hand to his brow to calm his rising temper. In the beginning of the week, he had brushed off these occurrences as simply his luck turning south. His things would be misplaced in random locations, persistent sales will come to his door claiming he called for their services, or he would have random phone calls in the dead of night. But as the days progressed, the odd annoyances worsened. The term 'bad luck' did not cover for the direct attacks on his person. It was too planned out to be a coincidence. He was being pranked.

Once he had realized this, he tried not to let the pranks antagonize him and remain amiable. He did not raise a hand to stop the pranks, but at the same time, he did not encourage it either. The stunts of mischief, while a hassle, were not causing any serious harm or damage, so he turned a blind eye and allowed the culprit to continue, content to let the whole debacle blow over. He had anticipated that with time, the perpetrator would grow bored and find a more productive alternative to waste his time.

He had hoped today would not turn out as bad as yesterday but it seemed as though it was not to be. Yesterday when he had groggily awoken, he was unaware of the strategically placed shaving cream in his hand and had shoved it into his yawning mouth. If that wasn't enough, coupled with the other minor tricks, he had been endlessly stalked by the ghost dog, Cujo. The large hound would pop in while he was at work to pester him for reasons unknown to him. As much as he would chase the pest away, the mutt would always find a way back. It wasn't until the giant dog had tackled him to the ground and ripped open his briefcase did the dog finally leave him alone. Somehow the dog's toy had found its way into his belongings.

Today, he was unceremoniously woken up with tabasco in his mouth. He has been itching (some in the most agonizing of places) throughout the morning and the man had a sneaking suspicion that the itchiness was another one of the culprit's doing.

All in all, Vlad was not amused.

He stormed back to the dining room, silently seething. He had a pretty good idea who the culprit was, judging by the overly nonchalant expression on Daniel's face. The corner of his mouth was twitching slightly, the telltale sign that the boy was trying hard to not laugh and expose himself.

He understood that the boy was only trying to vent out his frustrations at one of the only outlet available to his bored self. After the incident, Vlad had not allowed the boy to go outside and had basically placed him under house arrest. There was only so much the cooped up boy could do to pass his time, eventually, he had given under the immense pressure of boredom and had resorted to mischief to keep himself entertained.

Naturally being the only other person in the mansion, Vlad was the prime target.

Thank Clockwork, Danny knew only the muggle means for his pranks. Oh, he is going to regret allowing Daniel to learn magic. Vlad feared for the future pranks when the boy adds magic as a tool to his ever growing arsenal.

"Must you test me so?" He exasperatedly asked the boy.

"Whatever do you mean?" Danny said, feigning the perfect picture of innocence.

"I know you're the culprit, Daniel. We are the only two living in this mansion other than the ghosts."

"It could have been one of the servants." Vlad snorted.

"I highly doubt that. They would be too afraid to pull something like a prank on me." He scoffed.

A mental image of skittish ghosts tip-toeing around Vlad surfaced. Judging by how the other ghosts were terrified of angering the older halfa and catered to his every whim and need, the man had a valid point. "You're probably right." Danny agreed.

"Besides, I have lived with you long enough to learn most of your body language."

"You're bluffing," Danny exclaimed to the affront.

"Here's one, whenever you rub the back of your neck, it means you are feeling either nervous or guilty," Vlad said smugly.

The hand the boy had on his neck paused, Danny slowly lowered it to his side. He grinned sheepishly at Vlad. "Okay I concede, you caught me...but how else am I supposed to vent off some steam?" he asked innocently.

"I thought you forgave me." Vlad scowled.

"Just because I said I will forgive you doesn't mean I'm going to forget and let it slide. Besides, you have two years' worth of lies to make up for. Am I angry? No. Bitter? Yes."

"You know I will get back at you later for this."

"I know, but it's totally worth it."

"Cheeky brat."

Danny grinned, "Love you too."

Vlad picked up his discarded newspaper, casually flipping it open to resume reading. Not looking up from the paper, he said, "When you are done with your breakfast, we will be leaving for London to buy your school supplies."

"With all due respect, I doubt they sell wizard supplies at the London department store." Danny deadpanned.

Vlad simply allowed a sly smile to creep onto his lips. "You'll see."

"Just for the record, I'm not on board with joining a magical boarding school. Can't I still go to a regular public school? I have been fine so far. It's not like anyone knew I was a wizard. Heck, even I didn't know."

"The only reason why you were not discovered was because your latent magic was being suppressed. It will not be long before you do have another bout of unusual stunts that will further separate you from the muggle population. Without proper control, your magic will lash out with your emotions. With your current mental state, it's all the more pertinent that you learn to control it. Besides, you just might enjoy Hogwarts and maybe make some new friends."

"But I don't want new friends." The boy whined, "It's not like you have any." He muttered lowly.

Vlad ignored Danny's last comment. "Tough. Everyone needs company, if not, you can at least invest in some future business connections. You need to build yourself a network of reliable acquaintances, you never know when your relations will come in handy."

He paused for a moment as if he was contemplating on what to say next. "If you were to choose, which animal would you prefer to have, a cat, owl, or toad?"

"Owl, I guess." He was confused at the seemingly random leap in the conversation topic.

"Or if those classic cats and owls are mundane, how about something more exotic, like a snake?"

Danny shuddered as he recalled the Black Mamba lunging at his jugular with its bared fangs. "No snakes please."

Vlad hummed in thought, a servant came by and picked up their empty plates.

"Come, Daniel. Let us depart."

**-PotC-**

Danny gazed at the fruits of his labor proudly, his self-satisfied expression only seemed to further annoy his companion.

"Really Daniel?" Vlad gave Danny a flat look.

"What you got to admit, this is pretty awesome," Danny said smugly.

The inside of the garage was transformed into a mini winter wonderland, but instead of snow, they were standing in a sea of cotton balls that came up to their thigh. The white fluff appeared to cover every available surface in the room.

They waded through the white expanse till they came upon Vlad's Lamborghini, or at least what they assumed was a car. It was hard to distinguish the mound from its surrounding as it was covered in cotton balls too.

Danny giggled as he waited expectantly for Vlad's reaction. Rather than play along with the giddy boy and humor him, the man tiredly rolled his eyes and placed a palm on the door handle. The vehicle glowed as all the little balls phased off, revealing a cotton-free black car.

"Aww, come on." The boy pouted. "Sometimes pranking you is no fun when you use your ghost powers to cheat."

"Like I'm going to willing fall for your pranks just so you can have your entertainment," Vlad said dryly.

"Well you do kind of owe me."

"Not like this. How do you even come up with these things?"

"It's called using the internet. You should try it sometimes."

"Haha. Very Funny." Vlad said dryly.

"No, seriously. You won't believe some of the stuff that's on there! There's a couple I can't wait to try out next." Danny exclaimed with a twisted smile.

Vlad gulped. "Wait there's more?"

Danny's eyes gleamed, "Of course there's more, I'm not done yet." Vlad vividly felt the room temperature drop with dread. Before his father had a chance to voice his misgivings, Danny held up both his palms in a calming gesture. "How about this, I am willing to cut you a deal. I will end the pranks today if you agree to not hold me accountable for any more you may stumble across today."

"Why do I even have to agree to this in the first place?"

"Would you rather I do something else?" Danny asked sweetly. "Oh, remember that one time I installed the Ghost Gabber to your microphone during your public announcement speech and then-"

"God, no! Don't remind me- Fine." Vlad finally relented. It was either he agrees to this or suffer through more pranks the diabolical child will pull. "You have my word."

"I want it on paper," Danny demanded.

"You little…" Vlad growled.

"I learn from the best~" Danny quipped before skipping his way to the passenger seat.

**-PotC-**

They pulled up to a grimy pub called 'The Leaky Cauldron' on Charing Cross Road.

"We have arrived." Announced Vlad with a thinly veiled flourish.

Danny could not match Vlad's level of enthusiasm. For the supposed entrance to the magical world, Danny looked unimpressed at the dingy establishment, "I believe your age has finally taken its toll on you."

The older halfa frowned, "Shut up and follow me."

Similar to the unremarkable exterior, the interior wasn't much better. The pub was dimly lit and run-down. Vlad stalked his way up to the bald bartender. "I seek entrance to Diagon Alley."

"Are you new around here?" The man inquired.

"Yes. We are hailed from North America."

"I see." The bartender next looked at Danny. "You going to Hogwarts, Sonny?"

"Yes, sir." The man smiled fondly at the boy.

"Go out to the Courtyard and tap your wand thrice against the wall at three bricks up and two across."

The two said their thanks and headed to the brick wall. Vlad pulled out his wand and tapped the wall. The center bricks rotated away into a large archway. Danny stared in amazement as the archway revealed a bright cobblestone street bustling with activity. Shops lined the path and it was filled with all manner of wizards and witches.

Vlad glanced down at Danny's awestruck expression and smirked smugly. "Has the wizardry world met your expectations yet?"

"Definitely exceeded." The boy breathed.

"I have to go to Gringotts to convert the muggle wealth I have accumulated to wizardry currency. I also need to make a new vault there, since my old one is at the American branch." Vlad led the way to a towering building called 'Gringotts'. "Welcome to Gringotts Wizardry Bank."

Pushing open the bronze doors, they were greeted by the sight of short humanoids with bald heads and pointed nose and ears. Vlad nodded his head towards the creatures, "Goblins." He whispered to Danny.

The place was teeming with goblins. Vlad did not seem repulsed by the strange beings as if they were a regular occurrence to behold. The man confidently strolled to one of the counters and addressed the goblin stationed there. "We are here to open an account. Can I also exchange muggle currency here?"

"Yes, we can. I will have Margok make you a vault key. Please fill out these form and I will also need to take a blood sample from you as proof of identity." The goblin handed Vlad a small ceremonial knife. "Press your finger against the blade and allow three drops of your blood to spill onto the parchment." Vlad complied with the goblin's instructions and sliced his finger. As soon as the scarlet drops made contact, it was absorbed into the parchment.

While the goblin worked to file the papers, Vlad took this chance to inform Danny about the difference between Muggle and Wizardry currency. Apparently, there were twenty-nine knuts to a sickle and seventeen sickles to a galleon.

Margok came and handed Vlad a small golden key. "This is your vault key. If you are to lose it, you will be required to pay a fine to replace it."

Once Margok had left, "I would also like to make a withdrawal." Vlad said to the goblin at the counter. When they were finished with the proceeding, Vlad poured the coins into his pouch.

"Would you like to purchase a pouch charmed to retrieve galleons straight from your vault?" The goblin asked.

"No thank you." Vlad declined politely.

"Why not, it sounds convenient?" Danny questioned Vlad once they were out of Gringotts.

"It only takes one person with sticky fingers stealing that pouch to empty your entire fortune," Vlad informed Danny.

Danny gulped, "Yikes."

"You need to be smart with your money. Don't worry, I will make sure and drill this into your head before you are to take over my company."

Their next stop took them to a store called 'Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions'. The kind witch ushered Danny to stand on a stool where she then pulled a large robe over him and began to take his measurements by pinning the helm of the fabric to the right length. After she was done with his measurements, Vlad had ordered Danny's school robes and a set of dress robes to be made of the finest silk available, Acromantula silk, saying that his son deserves only the best. Ignoring Vlad's boast to the shop owner, Danny quickly glanced around the store. Danny was glad there was currently no other person around beside them, he didn't want to be seen and later recognized at school as an arrogant prat.

Of course, Vlad bought himself a beautifully crafted emerald green and gold robe. The Cheesehead never ceased to amaze Danny with his obsession with the Packers.

**-PotC-**

Vlad guided Danny to what appeared to be a bookstore. There was a gaggle of witches gathered inside Flourish and Blott's, supposedly there was a book signing event today.

"I need to run a quick errand, do you mind waiting here for me?" Vlad asked.

Danny shrugged, "Sure."

Vlad handed Danny the list of supplies, "While you wait, go and gather your required books and anything else you are interested in. I will be back soon to pay for them."

After he separated from his guardian, Danny pushed his way inside the jam-packed store. The boy walked around the shelves, browsing at the variety of choices available to him. There were subjects on just about everything, from history, potions, transfiguration, divination, magical creatures, jinxes and hexes, herbology, astronomy, and even muggle appliances. It was probably a good idea for him to get a book on potions if he was going to have Professor Snape as one of his teachers. He also took a couple on astronomy and magical creatures as well.

As he pulled out _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2_ from the shelf, another book caught his eye. Reaching a hand out, he grabbed a book titled, _Hogwarts: A History_. Curious to learn about the school that he would be going to, Danny flipped through the pages of the book.

_"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is divided into four houses, each based on the last name of its founder: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin."_

Looking through the available houses. Danny wanted to check what each house represented to try and gauge what house he might be placed in.

_"Each student will be sorted into a house based on the main characteristics the child possesses. Gryffindor values bravery, daring, nerve, and chivalry. Hufflepuff values dedication, patience, loyalty, and fair play. Ravenclaw values intelligence, knowledge, creativity, and wit. Slytherin house values ambition, cunning, leadership, and resourcefulness."_

He knew he was certainly not Ravenclaw material so that was out. He could be placed in Gryffindor with his hero-complex and all, but he wasn't sure if he could call himself brave. His 'Phantom' self tended to numb his emotions so it could be considered cheating. He also had no idea how he would react if he ever saw those Death Eaters again. At the thought of the masked men, his breath quickened as he tried to quell the coming panic attack. Images flashed in his mind. The uniformed masks, searing pain, a green flash, a sneering skull with a serpent tongue in the sky, and that horrid _snake_ …

Danny slammed the book shut, trying to clear his mind, he looked back at his list to see the rest of the books he needed to find next. The last on his list was the ones for his Defense Against the Dark Arts class, they took up a big chunk of his required textbooks. Since they were all written by the same author, they should be located around the same area. He glanced around the store.

A large banner displaying the name _Gilderoy Lockhart_ was hanging in the large space at the center of the bookstore. To his dismay, he has to go through a sizeable throng of people. He saw two redheaded witches enter the back of the line, eagerly awaiting to get their books signed.

He wasn't interested in getting his books signed by the preening blonde man who was smiling into the flashing cameras with sparkling teeth. Smaller portraits of the man surrounded the vain blonde. Danny could easily tell that the man was a narcissist with an inflated ego. Mentally categorizing the man as a person to avoid, the halfa headed toward the stack of books laid out on the side of the crowd.

Danny squeezed his way into the densely packed horde. Turning his hand intangible, he reached in and grabbed the necessary books. Escaping the crowd, he turned to leave. Icy blue made eye-contact with vivid emerald on a familiar face.

Danny recognized the messy-haired, bespectacled boy from the dinner party. He waved the boy down, "Hey!"

The boy was accompanied by two other children, who looked to be around his same age, a boy with freckles and flaming red hair and a bushy-haired brunette girl.

"You know him, Harry?" The redhead asked the other.

Harry looked surprised to see Danny. "Yeah, I met him at my relative's house. I thought he was a muggle."

"Hi, it's nice to see you again," Danny said in greeting to Harry.

"I didn't know you were a wizard."

"Yeah, I just found out." Danny said with a hand holding the back of his head, "It came as quite a shock." He held his hand out, "In case you don't remember, I am Daniel Masters, but I prefer to be called Danny."

Harry shook his hand, "Harry Potter." The other two grinned at Danny, "They are my friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger."

Greeting the two mentioned, Danny looked back at Harry, "Don't tell Vlad, but I for one loved what you did at the party… Fruitloop covered in dessert, beautiful."

Harry bit his lip, he seemed slightly uncomfortable, "Uh, actually that wasn't me."

"No way, seriously?" Harry nodded.

"Well, what was it then?"

"A house elf."

"An elf?" Danny paused for a second, once he perceived that Harry wasn't joking, he shrugged, "Since wizards and goblins are apparently real, I can believe that."

Hermione noticed the _Hogwarts: A History_ in Danny's arm, "Are you going to Hogwarts? A First-year?"

"No, I am transferring in as a second-year."

"I didn't know Hogwarts had transfer students…" For some odd reason, she seemed miffed at the knowledge, as if it was unfathomable for her to not know something. "You are not from around here?"

"North America."

"No wonder, your accent is different." Harry pointed out.

"Do you know what house you're in already?" Ron piped in.

Danny shook his head, "No clue. I wasn't sorted yet."

"Do you have any idea what house you might be sorted in?" Harry asked, "We are in Gryffindor."

"Definitely not Ravenclaw. Everything else is fair game."

"As long as you are not a Slytherin," Ron muttered hotly.

Danny thought of Vlad and Professor Snape, they may appear intimidating but they weren't that bad to be around. "What's wrong with being in Slytherin?"

"Look, you seem like a nice bloke. Take this for granted when we say, you don't want to be in there." Harry said.

"Those slimy snakes are evil!" Ron exclaimed, "That house has the largest Dark Wizard turn-out."

Danny was unconvinced, he frowned, "The house doesn't make the person. Besides, you shouldn't judge someone based on the majority."

"Well said." Hermione agreed.

"Let's just say, we speak from experience," Harry said, thinking of a certain platinum blonde Slytherin and his cronies.

Danny was about to give a retort back when he was interrupted by a shout. "Daniel!" Vlad called as he made his way over to the group. When the man saw who Danny's company was, he glared at Harry stiffly. Said boy shifted nervously. It is safe to say the older halfa still wasn't over the cake incident.

"It's time for us to leave. Please excuse us." Vlad told the trio as he grabbed Danny's arm and dragged him away. He nudged Danny to place his books on the store clerk's counter. Vlad paid the man and shrunk the goods before stuffing them into his pocket.

Danny was relieved when they were finally out of the stuffy store, it wasn't that he didn't like the place, more of the fact that he couldn't stand being around several people in an enclosed space. It made him feel trapped. Vulnerable.

"I see you were able to find books that drew your interest," Vlad stated.

"Yes, I found one on Astronomy!" Danny answered excitedly. A covered cage in Vlad's hand caught his attention. "What's that?"

"Oh, this?" He handed it to Danny. "It's a gift. Go on, open it."

Danny tugged off the black cover to reveal a large gorgeous owl. The owl had prominent black ear-tufts and its body was covered with fine dark wavy barrings of gold, brown, and black. From the center of the upper breast to the throat was a thin white band and its bright amber orbs appeared to be almost luminescent. "It's beautiful," Danny said in awe.

"I'm glad you approve. He is a Eurasian Eagle Owl. Have you thought of a name?"

Danny recalled one of the books he read with Vlad. "Zaqar."

"Zaqar, the messenger of the god of the moon, Sin. Relayer of communication through dreams and nightmares. Fitting name." Vlad said in approval at his choice. "In addition to being a familiar, owls can be used by wizards to deliver mail. This particular breed is able to carry large items over long distances."

Danny's face dropped, "I guess I won't be using him much… He is wasted on me. I have no one to send mail to." He said softly.

Sensing the need to change the subject, Vlad tugged him to another store, the narrow building had gold letters over the door that read: Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. "This is our last stop."

The bell tinkled as they walked inside. The place was very dusty and boxes were stacked everywhere, stored on shelves or piled on top of each other on the tables and floor.

Danny flinched when a soft voice was heard next to him, the voice belonged to an old man with pale, silver eyes. "Ah, Daniel Nightingale-or should I say Masters. I have not had the pleasure to make your parent's wands. Yes, yes. That reminds me, Mr. Clockwork sent this to me years ago saying that a Nightingale will come claim it." Mr. Ollivander held out a narrow box.

Danny took the box and opened it. "Hawthorn and thunderbird tail feather. Eleven-and-a-half inches, quite feisty."

When he grasped the wand, a calming chill jolted up his spine.

"Give it a wave." Said the man eagerly.

Danny swished the wand through the air. Frost crept along the length of the wand, once it reached the tip, a shower of blue and green sparks rained down.

"Bravo!" Mr. Ollivander clapped. "Odd, for I believe you family was known for producing innovators and inventors, wizards who matched with the wood walnut. How curious, that you are matched with the wand of paradoxes. Also known as the contradictory wand for its wood whose leaves and blossoms heal, but when cut will smell the stench of death. Excellent for healing and curses. While the core makes it a handy wand to sense danger." He mused, the man turned to face Vlad, "That will be 7 galleons." Vlad was relieved to hear that they had found Danny's wand sooner than he expected and handed the older man the gold coins.

**-PotC-**

Finished with the shopping trip, they returned home and Vlad retired to his study. Danny had gone to his room to put away his new things, so Vlad had time to himself to review the Muggle Studies curriculum and plan out the term.

When he entered the room, the older halfa was met with a bizarre sight. All the animal pelt rugs and hunting trophies that had decorated the room were shaved, only the heads of the animals were spared. Vlad groaned, he had forgotten about the child's pranks. Since he was still bound to the promise, there wasn't much he could do today to retaliate against the boy. He would have to find a way to exact revenge later, no matter what anyone said, he always had the last laugh.

Pushing the thought of retaliation to the side, Vlad took out the Muggle Studies course book and sat down. It wasn't long before he was disgusted by the poor quality and lack of comprehension that the book covered. Why wizards thought the need to include hangman and rock-paper-scissors to the curriculum was beyond him.

Nothing in the course mentioned anything truly important, such as muggle culture, government, economy, muggle technology, and muggle history and how it relates to the wizardry world. Instead, the class mainly focused on various muggle children games, the uses of electricity, or the study of how muggles were similar to wizards.

"This is rubbish." He tossed the book and started planning a new semester course from scratch. The man grabbed the coffee mug on his desk. Tilting the cup, he noticed there were words written in the cup as he drank. He quickly chugged the dark liquid down to read the writing.

_**(Enjoy the loo~)** _

"Oh, bonbons." The halfa cursed. Vlad rushed to the nearest bathroom. Done with his business, Vlad came back to the study. Gazing back at the vandalized rugs, he clenched his teeth and exhaled through his nose. "I will not be angry. Just breathe and remain calm."

He decided to visit his precious Packers collection because it always managed to relieve his mind of his stress. To his complete and utter horror, his entire collection had been dyed white, navy blue, and burnt orange. The dreadful colors of the Chicago Bears.

Forget calm. His yell reverberated throughout the mansion. "Daniel!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who wanted Danny to have Thestral tail hair as a core, I specifically did not choose this as it is only suited to a wielder who understands themselves. As you can see, the Danny in my story is still undergoing several inner turmoils so this core is not for him.
> 
> If you are wondering why I did not have Mr. Ollivander announce Vlad's wand it is because he only knows about the wands he sold himself. If you really want to know what wand he has, it is a thirteen inch, Fir, Basilisk skin core, rigid.


	16. Hogwarts

**Previously:**

_To his complete and utter horror, his entire collection had been dyed white, navy blue, and burnt orange. The dreadful colors of the Chicago Bears. Forget calm. His yell reverberated throughout the mansion. "Daniel!"_

**-PotC-**

Danny was reading a first-year spell book together with Vlad. The man was trying to cram as much of the first-year material as he could into the younger halfa before the school year began. By having to learn all the coursework in such a short amount of time, describing the boy as 'stressed out' did not even cover the half of it. Danny swore that his poor brain was on the verge of exploding from the information overload. Vlad made sure to correct the boy and reassured him that no one had yet to have their brain explode from learning schoolwork.

The ravenette pointed to a page, "What does it mean by spells can have specific colors?"

Giving the boy his full attention, Vlad explained, "Most spells have a distinct coloration that they correlate with, while charms, like the glamour charm, do not have any. During a duel, if you can recognize the spell by its hue, then you can effectively cast the counter curse to that spell. Granted, if you can see the trajectory of the spell that is hurling towards you, nothing says you can't simply dodge out of the way or cast a shielding spell."

"So you're telling me if I had turned intangible from the start, I could have saved myself from a whole world of pain?" Vlad nodded. Danny smacked a palm to his head and groaned, "Clockwork, why am I so stupid?"

"Not stupid, you were merely caught off guard by unfamiliar opponents. For your first fight against wizards, I believe you performed decently." It might not sound like much but Danny beamed, soaking up the complement like a sponge to water, it was rare for Vlad to hand out praise and he would savor all that he can get.

"More importantly, do you now have a greater understanding in why I stress the importance of preserving your stamina? If you had kept in mind, the status of your core, it would not have been depleted and you could have escaped your capture."

Danny frowned, leave it to Vlad to give criticism as soon as he finished doling out his praise. Vlad allowed Danny a moment to let everything sink in. "Do you have any other questions?"

Danny hummed in thought, "You mentioned a glamour charm, what is that?"

"The glamour charm is a charm that can be used to temporarily change or alter one's appearance."

This piqued the boy's interest, Danny bit his lip in thought. "Can it be used to hide things you don't want others to see?" He asked tentatively.

"Yes, witches use it all the time for cosmetic purposes. To cover skin blemishes for example."

"Can you teach me?" The boy asked with a wheedling grin.

"I don't see why not. Why the sudden interest, I didn't take you as vain." He teasingly nudged the boy in the side with his elbow, "I believe it is still early for you to try and impress the young witches."

Danny's cheeks flushed red, he gave an indignant cry, "Gross! No Vlad, not for that!" He scrunched his nose in disgust.

Vlad chuckled with mirth at Daniel's expression, now the twelve-year-old was pouting. "It's perfectly normal, you are a young growing boy and all. If you want, I can give you some pointers." He teased the boy. Vlad expertly dodged the book that was thrown at him.

"Says the man that's still single." Danny scoffed.

Vlad spluttered, "That only shows I'm waiting for someone special, not that I'm bad at getting the ladies!"

Danny casually wrapped his arms behind his head and leaned back into his chair, " _Right._ Whatever you say." He smirked.

Vlad coughed into his fist, "Enough about me. If it's not for girls, what's the real reason?"

"It's just that… I will be living in a dorm with others right?" He brought a hand to his chest and clenched the fabric. "And I will have to change in front of them…" Vlad's grin dropped, having an inkling of where this was heading. "I don't want them to see…" Danny trailed off with a downcast gaze, he gestured at the scars on his body.

Vlad's eyes softened in understanding, it probably wouldn't do to have the students of Hogwarts to see the Dark Mark branded on the boy's skin or the other healing injuries, and it would not be wise to instigate unneeded rumors. It might not be intentionally done, but the ignorant children would only assume the worse, thus hurting Daniel more. He placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder, "Don't worry, I understand." Vlad pulled out his wand, "Come. Let me show you the basics."

**-PotC-**

For the rest of the summer, Vlad privately tutored Danny so that he would be properly caught up on his first-year lessons that he had missed and continued to train him on his ghost powers. The name Voldemort popped up a couple times in Danny's books. Turns out Harry Potter was quite famous in the Wizardry World, apparently he defeated the Voldemort fellow as a baby. Danny had to stifle a snort when he read that little tidbit. An evil Dark Lord was vanquished by a _baby_ , talk about lame.

When September rolled around, Danny was up to speed with his studies and had firmly mastered his ice power (with the help of both Vlad and Frostbite). Vlad had also forced Danny to read up on wizardry culture so that he wouldn't be seen as clueless and further embarrass himself by 'acting like a complete imbecile', as Vlad so eloquently put it, in front of the other students. By the last evening before their departure, both halfas have finished packing their luggage and had turned in for the night so that they were prepared to leave early in the morning.

Danny was greeted to the new day with the sound of a charging ecto-gun and a declaration of _**"You're mine now, Ghost-child!"**_

"Skulker!" Danny yelled, he fell off the bed in a tangled heap of limbs. As he regained his composure, he flipped himself off the floor and made a fighting stance, ready for the enemy ghost's attack. The metallic ghost was nowhere to be seen. Wide awake from his pumping adrenaline, Danny warily glanced around his room. When no ghost leaped out into view, the halfa relaxed his stance and blinked in confusion. "What?"

The whining of a gun sounded again from his right, causing Danny to tense. It was soon followed by a series of vibrations coming from his dresser.

 _ **"You're mine now, Ghost-child!"**_ Danny picked up the vibrating device.

The voice did not belong to Skulker, it was an alarm clock. Roughly turning the clock off, Danny growled, " _Vlad_."

Getting dressed, Danny grabbed his trunk and stormed downstairs. Vlad was already there waiting for him with a cat-ate-the-canary grin. Danny shot a crossed look at Vlad, "Not funny."

"Were you able to get enough rest?" Vlad asked with undisguised interest.

"No thanks to you." Danny bit out.

"What? You didn't like my gift?" Vlad said with false hurt, "I made it just for you!" He finished with a sly grin.

Blatantly refusing to look at the man, Danny rolled his eyes and waved the man off. "It's way too early in the morning for this." He said, walking down the hall.

Vlad followed after him. "I believe it performed splendidly, you always do struggle to wake up on time." Vlad jested, not feeling guilty at all for his young charge's less than pleasant awakening.

Danny grumbled unintelligibly back. Since Vlad couldn't punish the boy for the stunt he pulled with his beloved Packers collection, the older halfa found other subtle ways to get back at him.

The two made their way to the entrance hall. "You ready to leave, Little Badger?" Danny grimaced at the pet name.

"Yes, and how many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that? I'm not a little kid anymore."

"You're still a kid in my eyes." Vlad affectionately ruffled Danny's head despite the boy's protest, worsening the boy's already messy hair. Danny shoved the man's hand away and used his fingers to comb the hair back into place.

"Well looks like someone's in a bad mood." Vlad sniffed.

"You would be too if you had a mini panic attack so early in the god awful morning. I seriously thought I was being attacked in my room." Danny retorted moodily.

"Think of it as another form of training." Danny shot him a disgruntled glare, clearly not happy with his answer.

"Fine," Vlad conceded, "If it will improve your mood, I promise to halt my early morning paybacks for now. At least until you get settled in at Hogwarts." Danny only huffed in response as they loaded their trunks and piled into the car with Carlos as the driver. Vlad sat in the seat next to Danny and they drove to King's Cross station in silence.

**-PotC-**

At the station, the two halfas were looking for the elusive platform nine and three-quarters. Vlad was busy studying the ticket.

"Are you sure it says nine and three-quarters?" Danny asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. It's written right here." Vlad showed the ticket to Danny.

The ravenette examined the print. "Maybe it's a typo?"

"I'm fairly certain that it's not a mistake. Knowing Hogwarts and their knack for lacking common sense, this seems like just the overzealous thing they would do."

"They should have at least put instructions on the back of the ticket."

"That would have been best, especially for the muggle-borns, as they would most definitely have trouble in finding the train."

Danny frowned, "What's with you wizards and making everything so difficult."

"Don't forget you're now one of those wizards too."

Vlad stopped suddenly causing Danny to collide into him. "Why did you-"

Vlad shushed him, "Look." He pointed.

A tall old woman with a bright red handbag and a young boy pushed a cart through the crowd. They would have appeared normal if it weren't for the large vulture on the woman's hat or that the boy was carrying a toad with him. The pair stopped between platforms nine and ten. The woman glanced around and whispered a few stern words to the boy before they ran through the barrier and disappeared from view.

Danny gaped and Vlad shrugged his shoulders, "Looks like we found platform nine and three-quarters."

"Kind of reminds me of our intangibility," Danny commented mildly.

They copied the pair and rushed through the barrier, Danny closed his eyes shut and braced himself for impact. But the pain of collision never came. Danny tentatively opened his eyes and gasped in awe. He almost forgot to breathe (not that it would affect him too badly if he did) when he beheld the majestic sight of the Hogwarts Express, it's smooth, sleek exterior gleamed and billowing puffs of smoke trailed out from the top. Scattered groups of families were clustered in front of each of the train's entrances as the children and their parents kissed and hugged each other farewell.

Danny's foul mood from earlier was promptly abandoned and was replaced with the uncomfortable, tightening knot he felt in the pit of his stomach as he saw the sheer number of people boarding the train. He was mostly fine with the crowd at Diagon alley (as long as he was not trapped in an enclosed space) because he would most likely not meet anyone there again. They were strangers, none whom he recognized, and they will soon forget they ever saw him.

Here there will be many prying eyes, watching, waiting for him to slip up, people who he will be forced to spend a period of time with. They will remember his name and face. One small misstep and there will be questions, when they discover his identity as a half ghost, they will track him down, and his life will be over.

Danny fought back the tempting urge to backtrack and return to the safety of the mansion. Gulping down his unease, he shored up his scattered resolve. He would go through with this, besides he would have Vlad with him here. He wasn't alone. Everything will be fine as long as he isn't discovered.

They two halfas walked down the platform, Danny stuck close to Vlad as they boarded the train. They found an open compartment near the end of the train. Vlad made his way inside first, tucking his trunk away into a corner. When Danny made a move to follow, the man blocked his path.

"Let me in." Vlad did not budge. "You need to move so that I can get in."

"Daniel, you will not be sitting with me." His father stated firmly.

Danny knit his brow in confusion, "Why not?"

"I want you to go out and converse with other peers your age. Find a seat with the other students. Take this as a chance to mingle and build new connections."

"Are you for real?" Vlad continued to stare down at him expectantly. Danny gave a reluctant sigh, "Fine I'll do it, even if this is another one of your lame attempts to get me to socialize and make friends... Know this, I'm only doing this, not because I want to, but as a way to get you off my back." He jabbed a finger at the man to emphasize his point.

"That will do, Daniel." With that said, the man promptly closed the door on Danny. Danny stood there for a moment staring at the door before he turned on his heels and left.

**-PotC-**

Danny stormed angrily through the train, all the while muttering about stupid overbearing Cheesehead and his obsessive need to meddle. He kept close to the edge to avoid running into anybody as he scanned through the glass panels for an empty compartment.

Up ahead, he caught sight of a familiar bushy-haired girl sitting alone, he picked up his pace and headed towards her. Before he could reach Hermione, a pale platinum blonde boy and his two goons intercepted him and barged inside.

Hermione looked up from her book at the intruder, "What do you want, Malfoy?" Bookmarking her page, she placed it to the side of her seat as she stood up to confront the blonde.

The blonde, now dubbed Malfoy, stepped forward his two burly guards fanning out to his sides to form a barricade. "You alone, Granger? I don't see Potter or Weasley around, did they finally tire of your company?" He drawled nastily.

She scowled, "No they didn't. They will be here soon."

The train whistle sounded, signaling its departure. The train slowly moved and began to pick up speed as it pulled out of the station. A flash of worry crossed Hermione's face before she regained her composure and returned her glare at Malfoy.

Malfoy crossed his arms and tilted his nose up. "Guess they weren't able to make it." He said slowly.

Turning to his companions, "Since Potter and Weasley missed the train hopefully they won't be able to attend this year. Maybe if we're lucky, they will be expelled!" He said with a taunting laugh, the others chuckled along with him.

"Good riddance. Scum like them doesn't deserve to learn magic." He sneered.

"Takes one to know one." Hermione bravely shot back, unable to hold back her anger any longer.

"What did you say, Granger?" Malfoy snarled.

"You heard me. Are you going to ask your father to have them expelled? You mustn't be much of a wizard if you have to rely on your father for everything."

Malfoy's eyes blazed as he whipped out his wand and pointed it at her. "How dare you-" Before he could fire a curse at Hermione, someone grabbed the end of his stick and a wand was jabbed threateningly against Malfoy's throat. It happened so fast, no one saw the boy come in.

Danny was taller than the blonde and loomed over him dangerously. "Is there a problem?" He said menacingly, his voice low but could be heard by all. Danny was fuming, he had heard everything and he was unable to stand by and watch as a defenseless girl was outnumbered and attacked. The other two boys cowered and backed away in fear, clearly aware of the rage in the newcomer's tone. Hermione watched the exchange with wide eyes.

Draco studied Danny, he looked into the hard, icy pools and couldn't repress a small shiver. Draco did not recognize the boy in front of him. Although he was sure that he had never seen him before, he was intrigued by the aura of power the boy emitted. His gut instinct told him that the being was not someone to cross. Being a pureblood, he was raised to trust his instincts early on. Rather than antagonize the unknown boy, he decided that it was better to stand down and retreat for now. Malfoy narrowed his eyes, the boy was definitely worth investigating.

He slapped Danny's wand away and straightened his robe. "No. Crabbe, Goyle, let's go." Malfoy turned to leave not before shouldering the halfa on his way out the door.

 _Geez, he's like another Vlad. No, even Vlad isn't that bad._ Danny watched the pale boy fled with his bruised pride. Danny didn't miss the scheming glint Malfoy had when he left, better keep an eye out for him. It never hurts to be prepared for when the blonde decides to retaliate back for his transgression.

"Thank you for your help, your name is Danny right?" Hermione said.

Danny nodded, "No problem, I have experience dealing with his sort of people so I know how to handle him."

"It was really cool what you did. How did you get here so fast? I didn't see you come in. You must be confident in your magic." She praised all in one breath.

"It was nothing," Danny looked away bashfully, a faint pink tinged his cheeks. Danny expertly twirled his wand around with his fingers, "I'm still new at magic, so I can't use this thing well, but he doesn't need to know that. Who was that by the way?"

"That was Draco Malfoy and his friends, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. If you ask me, Draco keeps them around more as bodyguards than friends."

"Yeah, I can see that."

"Oh, how rude of me! Danny, would you like to take a seat? You can stay in here with me."

"Thanks, are you sure it's okay? I don't want to steal anyone's spot."

"No worries, it's just me sitting here. I was saving a seat for Harry and Ron for when they got here, but the train already left. I guess they weren't able to make it in time. Strange - I thought I saw Fred and George earlier." She frowned.

"Well if they said they are coming, we will probably see them later at Hogwarts," Danny reassured her.

"I hope so."

The compartment door slid open, the chubby round-faced boy from earlier came sniffling inside.

"Hey Neville, what's wrong?" Hermione asked the boy.

"I couldn't find anywhere to sit, can I stay in here with you guys?" Danny caught something slip out of the boy's pocket. Catching it deftly with one hand, he grabbed the falling toad before it reached the ground.

"Hey, is this toad yours?" He held the animal up.

"Trevor!" Neville exclaimed, reaching out for his pet.

"You might want to keep a closer eye on it, it had sneaked out of your pocket." Danny handed the boy his pet.

"Thank you. Sorry, I don't think I know you."

"No problem. The name's Daniel Masters, but you can call me Danny. I am a transfer student."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Neville Longbottom." They shook hands.

"Neville is also a Gryffindor," Hermione said to Danny, then she turned to Neville. "If it's alright with Danny, you can stay here with us."

Neville looked hopefully at Danny. The halfa grinned, "Sounds fine with me."

**-PotC-**

About an hour had passed when a witch knocked on the door and slid it open. "Anything from the trolley, dear?"

Danny sprang up, "Yes, please. Do you guys want any? It's my treat."

"Are you sure? That's awfully kind of you."

"Yeah, it's fine. My father gives me a huge allowance anyways." Danny pulled out a pouch filled to the brim with gold galleons. "In exchange, show me which ones are good since I haven't tried any of these before."

Several minutes later, the three children were talking amiably together while snacking on the different treats. Hermione was nibbling at a pumpkin pastry as she read her book, _Gadding with Ghouls_. Neville was examining the card from his chocolate frog. Danny had bought a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans for himself.

Without showing any care of the flavors, Danny grabbed a large handful of the beans and tossed it into his mouth. As he chewed, he noticed several eyes gawking at him. Hermione and Neville were watching him eat in disbelief. Hermione looked as though she was waiting with baited breath for him to keel over and Neville was sickly green, his cheeks puffed as he suppressed the urge to hurl. Danny swallowed thickly.

"What?" He asked defensively, not liking how they were all staring at him.

"Are you alright?" Neville asked tentatively.

"Yeah…" He answered back slowly, unsure of what they were asking him.

"How are you not sick? You ate like twenty different beans at once!" Hermione demanded.

"So? They're just jelly beans." Shrugged Danny, not getting why they were throwing a big fuss.

"Doesn't it taste gross?"

"Oh! No, it doesn't taste that bad. I'm used to exotic cooking so I can handle most foods." He said, remembering his mom's cooking and the various strange food Vlad forced him to eat from the Ghost Zone. Neville's face lost all its color. "You need a bag, Neville?" Neville quickly grabbed the proffered bag and held it to his mouth.

"Right…" Hermione said dubiously, still skeptical of Danny's apparently desensitized taste buds. Seeing that Danny was not planning on explaining more, she dropped the subject.

**-PotC-**

The rest of the train ride went by quickly as the three second-years discussed the upcoming school year. At one point in the ride, Danny swore to himself that he caught a glimpse of a flying turquoise car, but when he rubbed his eyes, it was gone and replaced by the whizzing lush, green scenery.

Eventually, Hermione warned them that they were nearly there and that they better change into their school robes. As the boys changed in the compartment, Hermione went outside to dress elsewhere.

The train slowed to a stop at Hogsmeade Station, a voice told everyone to leave their luggage behind on the train. Everyone crowded around in the corridor until the door opened and they piled out onto the platform. The first-year students split off from the group to follow a large bearded man. Rather than search for Vlad, Danny decided to walk down the mud path and follow his new friends to where a mass of black carriages with headlamps were parked. They climbed aboard, even though there was no driver, the vehicle moved once everyone was settled in.

Danny was kind of disturbed by the creepy pupil-less skeletal horses pulling their carriage but since no one was causing a commotion or freaking out, it must be a common norm for wizards to have their carriage pulled by these things. He will ask Vlad about them later.

When they passed through the wrought iron gate, Danny finally had his first clear view of the castle. It was one thing to read about Hogwarts castle but another to actually see it. The textbook did not do the majestic building justice.

A professor came and found Danny and led him off a separate corridor from where the rest of the student body were heading.

The plump, round witch had a distinct earthen smell to her as if she spent most of her time gardening. "Welcome to Hogwarts, Mr. Masters. I hope you found your trip here pleasant. I am Professor Sprouts and I have the great pleasure of teaching you Herbology." She showed him to a small, empty chamber. "You will be waiting here with the first-years since you shall be sorted with them." She bid him good-bye and headed inside to the Great Hall.

Danny didn't have to wait long before he heard the sound of several shuffling footsteps heading in his direction. Around the bend came a throng of nervous children led by a stern-faced woman in emerald robes.

She nodded in his direction before addressing the group. With practiced ease, she gave a long winded speech that must have been repeated and rehearsed every year about the four Houses and how their own merits will win and lose them points and the House with the most points at the end of the year will be awarded the House Cup.

"I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly." She finished.

Once she left the chamber, the group burst out into fearful, hushed whispers. The first-years theorized on how they would be sorted. Danny chose not to participate in their discussion because he assumed they will be sorted in the same manner as Vlad with the talking hat.

Everyone ceased in their conversations when the professor returned. "Form a line and follow me." Danny was told to go to the back of the line and they walked through the double doors into the Great Hall.

The hall was filled with floating candles, the rest of the students sat on four long tables with their fellow housemates. They chattered loudly, reconnecting from their time apart, telling each other of their summer. Danny looked up at the ceiling and saw glittering stars. He wondered that if he were to transform, would he be able to fly out into the night sky from here?

Danny found Vlad sitting with the other professors at a table on the top of the hall. He sat next to Professor Snape and appeared to be grumpy, probably unhappy with his seating arrangement. Granted this all changed when he locked eyes with Danny and he gave the boy a small, encouraging smile.

Danny followed the line of first-years up near the professors' table and from there they stood facing the student body. Danny was uncomfortable with all the stares, especially since it felt as though everyone was paying close attention to him, his tall stature made him stand out from the short first-years.

Unlike the others, Danny was unimpressed when the hat was placed on a stool in front of them since he already saw the ratty hat before. Some of the first-years looked relieved that they weren't required to take a test while a few looked confused on why a hat was even there. Danny was mildly surprised when the Sorting Hat started to sing (mainly about its job and the different houses that were available), it didn't do that with Vlad. Once the hat finished with its song and stilled, the hall was filled with applause.

The witch from earlier stepped forward and instructed them to sit on the stool and place the hat on when she called them. She began reading out names from a list. One of the names he recognized as Ron's younger sister when he heard 'Weasley' as her last name. The small red-haired girl was sorted into Gryffindor with her brother.

When all the first-years were all sorted, Danny waited patiently for his name to be announced next. When his name wasn't called, Danny had a brief fear that maybe they had forgotten about him until Dumbledore stood up from his seat.

"I am pleased to announce that we will be having a new transfer student joining us as a second-year." Mutters spread across the hall. Were transfer students uncommon? "He is from America and I hope you will all do well to make him feel welcomed. Now Professor McGonagall, if you would please do me the honor?"

Dumbledore sat back down when Professor McGonagall called out, "Masters, Daniel."

Danny was nervous as hell. The halfa walked stiffly towards the stool and placed the hat down on his head. The sound of the hall dulled as only a small voice could be heard in his ear.

_"I see that you are the son of Professor Masters. How do you live with him?"_

Danny inwardly laughed at that, even the hat had issues with Vlad. _"Oh, you get used to him."_ He answered back.

The hat was silent for a moment, Danny had an unsettling feeling that the hat was rooting through his mind, _"Very interesting. You are one of the most complex person that I have had the chance to sort, almost as complex as Harry Potter."_

It paused, _"Although you are intelligent, you do not apply yourself enough to your studies. You are very loyal to your friends, but they will find it difficult in the beginning to earn your trust. So Hufflepuff is not for you. Plenty of strength while exhibiting great resourcefulness and cunning during tight situations. Determined, with a knack for ignoring the rules."_

" _There's bravery and you have already accomplished many heroic feats, but most of it for your own interest or to counteract your feelings of guilt. You are more than qualified to be in Gryffindor, but your secrets won't be safe there...especially with those three - best be_ SLYTHERIN!" The hat shouted the last word out loud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Has anyone tried eating those jelly beans all at once? I did once with my friends as a dare and let's just say: Never again.
> 
> So Danny is in Slytherin. A while back, I kept Danny's personality in mind when I took the Pottermore test for him and got Slytherin. Then I was like 'what if Danny was a Slytherin during the events of the Chamber of Secrets', so I decided to write down the idea and expand on it. I sat down and wrote down an outline (took me about 2 months to finish) and that's how Phantom of the Chamber was born. Basically, Danny was going to be in Slytherin no matter what for this story, sorry if anybody is disappointed.
> 
> Danny was more than cut out to be in Gryffindor but I didn't want to follow tradition and put him in there just so that he will be friends with the Golden Trio. While Danny is very loyal and sweet when he wants to be, I think after losing his only friends, he is not emotionally ready for the welcoming arms of the Hufflepuffs. Even though he could make many new friends with the puffs, I feel that he would be uncomfortable with the sudden closeness of having many people crowd around him (he's been alone for two years with only the Fruitloop as company, that is bound to cause him some social issues). That being said, Danny is definitely not a Ravenclaw, to me, it's just not in his nature. Hopefully, nobody is too disappointed. :P
> 
> Till next time~


	17. Snake Pit

**Previously:**

_“You are more than qualified to be in Gryffindor, but your secrets won't be safe there...especially with those three - best be SLYTHERIN!”_

**-PotC-**

At the head of the table, it could have been the light but the twinkle in Dumbledore’s eyes seem to dim a bit when Danny’s house was announced throughout the Great Hall by the Sorting Hat.

There were a few polite claps, the loudest and most enthusiastic coming from Vlad. He was beaming with pride that his son was sorted into the same house as him. 

His father’s eyes briefly flared crimson in rage at the Gryffindor table when two identical redheads booed at the newly dubbed Slytherin. If it weren’t for the fact that Vlad was in front of hundreds of witnesses, Vlad’s murderous glare would have unleashed painful ecto-beams at the two.

The Slytherin Head of House twitched his lips upward slightly, pleased that the coveted young halfa would be one of his ambitious snakes. Snape parted his mouth to give a snide retort to Professor Master, to rub in the knowledge that he would be spending more time with the boy as his Head of House and teacher, but he was cut off by a boisterous chuckle from the wizard in aquamarine robes. 

Both men instantly scowled when Lockhart, who Danny recognized seeing at the book signing, exclaimed loudly in an obnoxious way that he knew all along from the start what house the transfer student would be sorted in. 

There was a distinct crash of branches that could be heard from outside, curious heads turned in surprise. Professor Snape stood up abruptly and excused himself from the staff table, he gave a minute nod of acknowledgment toward Danny as he passed, his dark robes flowing dramatically from an invisible breeze as he made his way out the Great Hall.

Danny pulled the hat off his head and placed it back onto the stool. He looked wistfully at the bright Gryffindor table, the Slytherin table appeared dim in comparison. He would have liked to be in the same gold and red house as Neville and Hermione, while they may not be friends yet he could at least consider them as friendly acquaintances, but it wasn’t meant to be. Not to mention his rotten luck stuck him in the only house with a snake as their mascot. Thankfully, as long as there weren't actual snakes infesting the dorms, he should otherwise be fine. Maybe a little uncomfortable but he could manage.

Hermione caught his gaze and waved at him. She also seemed slightly disappointed that he wasn’t sorted into Gryffindor. The two seats next to her were still empty, Harry and Ron must not have made it in time for the Sorting Ceremony.

Danny walked slowly toward the Slytherin table. All the snakes turned to face him, silently appraising and sizing him up with their eyes, mentally ranking his position in their hierarchy. 

He easily recognized one face from among the snakes. Draco sat with his back to the wall, allowing him to have the best view of the entire expanse of the Great Hall. Draco portrayed himself with an air of superiority as one who would hold court, but his arrogance was justified from how his surrounding peers stopped all that they were doing just to hear what he had to say.

Draco saw that Danny was heading over and harshly shoved the large boy sitting next to him aside to make room for the transfer student, Goyle (if he remembered his name correctly) moved over to the other large but slightly fatter boy. 

Draco seriously reminded Danny of Dash Baxter; blonde, annoying, and full of himself. Classic bully material. He even came with his own bodyguards! Danny hesitated and faltered in his steps, he desperately glanced around for anywhere else to sit, but low and behold, all the other seats were taken. Danny swallowed a lump of dread. Great, the only available seat was with the guy who was probably his newest enemy. He was reluctant to sit near Draco, knowing that things would probably go south as soon as he got involved with the blonde.

So much for the relatively peaceful year of laying low and unnoticed that he had hoped for. If he was to be stuck with Draco for the rest of the year, he might as well try and get along. Giving in, Danny sighed and sat down next to the pale blonde.

To his surprise, Draco spoke first, “Please excuse my rude behavior in the train, I admit I had spoken horribly out of line with your friend. I hope that you will accept my deepest apologies and perhaps put this incident behind us. We haven't met in the most pleasant of ways, so let us start over anew." 

While Danny appeared calm, on the inside, his mouth was gaping open in disbelief. Did he just apologize to him? Danny blinked and stared at him with suspicion. What is he playing at? Draco was acting completely different than how he was on the train. He was actually being pleasant. Had he misjudged him? Danny didn’t peg the boy as the type who would admit his mistakes and apologize to others easily, he seemed too prideful for that. 

Danny didn't know what to say. Perhaps he had assessed the boy too soon? Maybe he should give Draco another chance before he was to draw his own opinions on the boy. Taking a glance to his side, apparently, he wasn't the only one who was shocked by the blonde's behavior. The other Slytherins who had heard the exchange looked as though they couldn't believe what they were seeing.

Draco drew back Danny’s attention as he continued speaking. Draco stuck out his hand, “I believe we haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Draco Malfoy and I want to be the first to welcome you into Slytherin. It’s a great pleasure to have you in our house.” If Danny hadn’t been trained by Vlad, Draco would have noticed his unease.

“Daniel Masters. Thank you for the kind words, Malfoy.” He said tersely, tentatively taking the blonde’s hand. He felt as though he was shaking hands with the devil.

“Please call me Draco.” Draco smoothly corrected him, baring his polished pearly teeth into a smile in his own way of a friendly gesture, granted if one were not to have heard the words that came out of his mouth it would appear as though he was giving the newbie a predatory grin.

“If that is alright with you, Draco, then I would also prefer if you were to address me as Danny.” Taking this gesture as a sign of acceptance, Draco flashed a smug grin across the hall at Hermione who was watching the entire exchange with eerie focus. Danny gulped, great this was rapidly getting awkward. He hoped that he wouldn't regret accepting Draco’s friendship later.

Seeing that the two were now on friendly terms and that Draco had accepted the new Slytherin into their ranks, the other snakes returned to their previous conversations, the tense air at the table rapidly dissipating. Danny was officially considered one of their own for now.

Before Danny could say anything else to Draco, Dumbledore called for everyone's attention. “Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Now before we begin the feast, I would first like to welcome Professor Vlad Masters who has also come from America. He will be teaching the elective class Muggle Studies this year." Afterwards, Dumbledore said a few seemingly random words and sat back down.

Danny quietly gasped in amazement as a multitude of food began to fill the plates. The piles of freshly cooked food let off a visible trail of soft steam, causing the boy's mouth to water at the sight. He indulged a bit and served himself a little of everything onto his plate. Danny spied the two hulking boys on the other side of Draco hunching their shoulders in a gorilla-like stance as they devoured their meal, shoveling several spoonfuls of food with each breath. Before he could tuck in, a loud bang sounded as Professor Snape stormed back inside.

Danny watched curiously as Snape whispered a few words to Dumbledore and McGonagall, by their expressions Danny could guess that it wasn’t pleasant news. Both stood up as Dumbledore excused themselves from the table and then followed Snape out the door. Danny shared a glance with Vlad since the older halfa should have been close enough to hear the entire exchange. Vlad shook his head to the side to reassure the boy that the news did not involve them. Giving the man a relieved nod, Danny scanned the rest of the professors at the High Table.

A tiny man with sharp features sat next to the seat in which McGonagall occupied, his voice squeaked in such a high pitch, it was easy for Danny to overhear his conversations from the Slytherin Table. In contrast to the tiny professor, the man sitting by the Gryffindor side dwarfed all the other professors at the High Table in stature. The man had an enormous build, taking up five people's worth of space.

“Who’s that?” Danny asked Draco.

“Him?” Draco said in an uninterested drawl. “He’s Rubeus Hagrid, the _half-giant_ Hogwarts gamekeeper.” He sniffed in disgust. “Don’t know why Dumbledore allows him here, that oaf is a menace. Tried to raise a dragon within the school grounds last year till I told the professor about it.”

A mental image of an angry Princess Dora in a school full of children made Danny shiver, “Sounds dangerous.”

“Yeah, the man handled detention once. He’s bloody mental, had us searching in the Dark Forest at night. Do you know the amount of creatures crawling around in there? I swear he was trying to have us killed! You can bet I told my father, but he still wasn’t able to have Hagrid kicked out. So we still have to deal with him.”

“I see.” It appeared to Danny, that Draco had a habit of running his mouth to a higher authority over petty matters. He would have to be careful around the blonde.

“Ahem.” A fake cough was heard from across the table, successfully interrupting their conversation, “Draco don’t be rude, aren't you going to introduce us to your friend? You are making us feel left out with you hogging the new student’s attention. I'm so jealous,” she whined. “We want in on your conversation!” She sounded so fake, the insistent batting of her eyelashes was getting on Danny’s nerves.

Draco rolled his eyes at the girl’s antics but complied anyway, “Danny, this is Pansy Parkinson.” He then gestured to the two boys on either side of her, the black-haired, dark skinned boy to her left, “Blaise Zabini,” and the tall, lanky one to her right, “Theodore Nott.”

“And you’ve already met Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.” Draco finished dismissively. The mentioned two paused in their eating briefly before diving back in to continue with their more important meal.

From what he could infer, Draco was introducing Danny to the 2nd-year Slytherins who were like the equivalent of the A-list back in Casper. Danny decided to play along for now. Who was he to look a gift horse in the mouth? “Daniel Masters, it’s nice to meet you all.”

Pansy leaned forward eagerly, “So what’s the deal with you having the same last name as the new Professor? Are you related? You don’t look similar, but then again your eye color...”

“Um, we’re not related. We share the same last name because I was adopted by him.

The effect of these words was instantaneous. Pansy's face twisted with disdain and she turns her face away as if looking at Danny was painful, Blaise's lips curled into a hard sneer, and Theodore's friendly smile now seemed strained. Crabbe and Goyle just stared dumbly, not really sure what was going on.

The enthusiasm from earlier was lost, the Slytherins acted as though he was now a social pariah. The change was so immediate and extreme. Was it something he said wrong? _Brilliant, Danny._ He mentally congratulated himself. _Great work, the one chance you get to have a friend group amongst your housemates delivered to you on a silver platter, you blew it._

Surprisingly, the only one who wasn’t fazed was Draco.

“Is there something wrong with being a Masters?” Danny asked Draco.

"No, the Masters are fine," Draco reassured Danny, the others looked shocked that Draco was still talking to him, he wasn't even using a condescending tone toward the lower status boy. Draco was acting casual with Danny as if they were close friends. "They are a highly respected Pureblood family (even if their current head is considered a disgrace for masquerading as a Muggle…). No, they are just unhappy with the fact that you're adopted."

“What’s wrong with being adopted?” asked Danny defensively, not liking what he heard.

“It's nothing against you personally, so feel free to ignore them.” Draco waved him off to placate the offended boy.

"Seems personal to me," Danny muttered, Draco only shrugged in response.

Taking the sign that Draco was still talking to the new snake as a silent approval to interact with the newbie, Pansy decided to continue with her questions, granted with less reserve than before. "So what's your story? How did you come to be adopted by a Master of all people? Why did you enroll into Hogwarts now of all times, isn't it a little late (you missed your first year and all). Where're your parents?" Pansy rapidly asked, not feeling the least bit ashamed for asking such a private question. Since there was nothing to say that Danny was a Pureblood, it was only right that he was of lower status than her, she didn't care whether she had offended him or not. He should be glad that she was still willing to associate with him.

Clearly reading Pansy’s motive, Danny narrowed his eyes at her. The longer she continued to talk, the higher she was making her way up on his list of whom he considered as his enemies. He knew that she was planning on squeezing as much information out of him as she can now, and when the opportunity suited her, to sell it off to her friends to gossip and twist to her fancy. Her superior attitude towards him soured his mood, and he no longer felt comfortable with answering her questions or continuing with their small talk.

He was not going to let them walk over him just because they viewed themselves as superior. If the Slytherins wanted to push him around, they will soon learn that he will not roll over and let them do with him as they please.

"They're dead," Danny stated bluntly, hoping that it would make her back off. Maybe if he was lucky, they would descend into an awkward silence and he can finish his meal in peace.

“Oh really! How did they die?” Pansy tactlessly pressed ignoring the not so subtle hint to leave him alone, she looked eager to hear all the juicy details.

"I don't want to talk about it," Danny said firmly, refusing to give her anything to use against him.

Clearly reading the discomfort in Danny’s tone, Draco decided to save the day and cut in. “Leave him be, you guys are suffocating him with all your questions like nosey Hufflepuffs. You can bombard him later once he gets all settled in.”

Thank Clockwork they actually listened, albeit Pansy was less than willing, she wasn’t thrilled for the change in subject and returned to her plate disgruntledly.

The tension in the air was suffocating as Danny resumed his meal, he hoped that the feast would end soon so that he could retire to his dorm and call it a night. His breath shuddered asan he breathed out an icy whisp. He had sensed the ghosts earlier when he had stepped into the castle but now his ghost sense was letting out a stronger signal, he could feel that there were several ghosts occupying the Great Hall. As if on cue, several of the silver specters fazed through the walls into the hall.

Every year during the feast, the ghosts of Hogwarts can be seen milling around by their house table to greet the students, but this year the staff and students were treated to an unusual sight. The numerous ghosts swiftly converged onto one location (some of the poor students let out a scream in fright), they were all gathered around the Slytherin table, eager to greet the new transfer student.

Vlad was watching the entire scene with a glower, disliking how the unfamiliar ghosts were swarming around his son.

These ghosts were different from the ones that were local to Amity Park. In Amity, the ghosts were tangible and more powerful due to being created from their obsession, the Hogwarts ghosts are only a shade of their former selves from a tragic death. Not as dangerous but they posed no lesser of a threat.

Vlad was at first worried when he saw how his son had undergone a mini interrogation session by his new housemates and was about to step in until Daniel handled the situation.

He couldn't even relax for a minute before Daniel ran into his next potential problem. Nosy children were one thing, but these were ghosts. They were a greater hazard in themselves as they could recognize them for what they really were and carelessly spill their halfa secret with one ill-phrased slip in conversation.

This will have to be handled with a delicate hand. Vlad tensed at the edge of his seat, fully prepared to intervene on Daniel’s behalf if there were any problem with the confrontation with the House Ghosts. Vlad growled lowly as he thought of what he would do to the ghosts if they endangered his precious Little Badger.

Hearing the odd sound that the professor made, Lockhart turned a puzzled brow to Vlad. Seeing the man’s threatening posture and the dark possessive aura oozing out of him, Lockhart did the smart thing and scooted his chair away from the man. Flitwick watched the strange exchange between the two and wasn't able to turn his gaze away fast enough as Lockheart focused on him and tried to strike up a conversation with the unwilling man.

Back with Danny, four of the ghosts wafted forward from the mass of overlapping specters. They introduced themselves to Danny as the four main House Ghosts: Sir Nicholas, Fat Friar, Grey Lady, and Bloody Baron. They told him that all the ghosts of Hogwarts have gathered here today because they wanted to graciously welcome him to Hogwarts and how it is a great honor to have him at their school.

The Bloody Baron’s chest was puffed up proudly like a peacock, his silver blood glistening in the light for all to see, Nicholas could only grumble on how the Bloody Baron would become even more unbearable with Danny sorted into Slytherin.

Although the other Slytherins were uncomfortable with the ghosts surrounding their table, they tried to maintain their composure, it wouldn’t do if they appeared weak to the other houses. Danny, however, continued to eat with ease as he made polite pleasantries with the ghosts, grateful that the ghosts' presence prevented any more invasive questions from Pansy. Eventually, the amount of ghosts at the table trickled down until only the four House Ghosts were left.

Danny bit into a treacle tart with a self-indulgent smile and he moans a bit at the delicious taste. Nicholas smiled albeit sadly, he mentioned how the food looks good as always in a wistful tone.

Danny frowned, “Aren't you going to eat too?” Danny asked the watching ghost. Blaise snorted at Danny and Theodore snickered.

"He's dead. Of course he can't eat." Pansy shot nastily. Draco cracked a smirk at that, he too found it funny.

“Even if he’s a ghost, he still has feelings. Treat him with more respect.” Danny snapped reproachfully. The Slytherins looked at Danny skeptically as though he was not all there in the head.

"Thank you for the kind words Danny, but she's right," Nicholas said solemnly, all too used to the treatment. The other ghosts nodded in agreement.

“No, it’s not right, they shouldn’t treat you like that. Besides, from where I lived, the ghosts there can eat. Now that I think about it, I might have something.” Danny reached a hand into his inner robe pocket and pulled out a small metallic cube. It was about half the size of his palm and had the weight of a coin. Several pairs of eyes watched him curiously as he placed the petite object on the table.

“What's that?” Draco asked.

“It's one of my father’s invention. Watch this.” He pressed the circular button on the front. The cube grew in size, swelling up as though it was being filled with air like a balloon until it was as large as a chest. The top popped open and cool air wafted out.

It reminded Danny of the _Fenton Thermos_ , granted this stored food rather than ghosts. Danny reached inside and brought up plates after plates of wrapped food that Frostbite had forced him to take with him. Bloody Baron leaned in closer as Danny unwrapped one to reveal something that looked like a pork roast, except it was bright green and floated slightly off the plate.

“I know this isn't the same but I think you will be able to eat this. These are some food my friend gave me. It's food that ghosts can eat. Try some.” Danny lifts the plate towards the ghosts’ direction.

Nicholas was hesitant at first but curiosity soon won out and he grabbed a small piece. He and the other ghosts gasped in amazement when he was able to successfully touch the food without fazing through it. He took a small tentative bite, his eyes widened, and he quickly took another much larger bite. Now eager to try, the other ghosts soon followed his lead.

“This is amazing!”

“Absolutely remarkable!”

“How is this even possible?!”

Silver tears of joy streamed down Nicholas’s face as he flew into Danny’s personal space and clasped his hands(or at least tried to as his hands simply fazed through) his nose almost touching Danny’s, all the students watching flinched as they imagined the fierce cold that Danny must be feeling from the ghost. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! You don’t know how long I wished that I could taste food again. You truly are a hero to ghosts!!”

“No problem, it was nothing. I only wanted you guys to enjoy the feast too. Here you can have the rest and share it with the other ghosts too if they want some. I can always get more whenever you run out.” Danny said, pleased that the ghosts truly seemed to enjoy the food more than he would have been.

As if in a trance at the eerily floating dish, Vincent reached out a hand. Danny quickly pulled the food out of reach, “Ah, I wouldn't eat some if I were you. Might cause some nasty side-effects to humans.” Vincent and Gregory grunted in disappointment.

“It’s _glowing_ , I wouldn’t want some anyway.” Blaise scoffed.

"You have to be pretty thick to try food that the dead eats, for all we know, it will cause you to become one of them," Theodore said, Gregory and Vincent paled at the thought.

“Why do you even carry that with you then?” Draco asked Danny, not seeing the point of having food that you couldn’t eat.

"It's not like you are planning on eating it with them," Pansy added.

"I just have a way with ghosts," Danny said mysteriously as if it answered everything.

Draco frowned. That answer was deliberately vague. He added it to his list of things to investigate later on the ravenette, right next to figuring out the reason why all the ghosts seemed fascinated and enamored with Danny.

**-PotC-**

Finally to Danny’s relief, the feast came to a close with Dumbledore’s announcement of the rules and new regulations for the year. The students were led out with their respective housemates to follow a prefect to the dorms.

Danny again had to follow the first-years to the dungeons so that he could listen to the Slytherin's version of the welcoming spiel. The Slytherin prefect stopped at a stretch of a plain, stone wall and turned around to address the younger snakes. "This is the entrance to the Slytherin dorms. You must say the password for it to open, for now, it is ‘Salazar', the password will change weekly so be sure to remember it." The grinding stones gave a loud protest as the wall slide to the side, leaving a rectangular hole. Everyone filed into the Slytherin common room and the door closed behind them.

“The new password will be posted in the common room on the morning of the last day of the week. If you don’t have it memorized or if you have forgotten to check for it, you will have to ask another housemate for the password and I assure you it will not be for free. Also as a Slytherin, we are seen in a negative light by the other houses, because of this, it is expected of you to show a united front in the school. If you have any quarrels with each other, solve it within the dorm. Once you are outside, you will stand by each other. Boys and girls will have separate dorms, four to a room. First-years’ will be down this way.”

Before Danny could make a move to follow, the Head boy blocked his path. “You will wait here, unlike the others, you will not be sharing a room with your fellow second-years. I was informed by the Headmaster that due to some circumstances (that was not disclosed to me) you shall be staying elsewhere.” With that said, he left to oversee his other duties, leaving Danny alone in the common room.

Danny wasn't left waiting for long, Professor Snape came and showed him the way to his room. Apparently, he would be having his own private room, unlike the other students. As they walked, the emerald light that filtered through from the lake dimly lit their path, long haunting shadows stretched down the hall. Several portraits of varying size decorated the hall, all sporting some form of the common trademark theme of green, silver, and snakes.

They stood in front of a large portrait, within the gleaming silver frame held a skillfully painted jungle scenery. A majestic hawk swooped down into the trees, it snatched a lounging snake from a branch and carried it off. The furious snake spat and hissed in fury, writhing in the hawk’s sharp claws. The hawk did not expect for its prey to slip from its grasp, the lithe snake soon turned the tides as it wrapped its body around the hawk, squeezing the hawk with a fierce grip. The bird squawked in fear and frantically flapped its wings in a panic. Before it could break free, the serpent struck with vengeance, driving its fangs into the hawk’s throat. Then the portrait looped back to the beginning, restarting the hawk and snake’s morbid dance. Danny felt a twinge of sympathy for the bird that was eternally stuck, struggling to break free from the serpent's unrelenting grip.

"This is where you will be staying for the school year. A password can be added at your discretion. If you have any questions or in need of counsel, come see me in my office. My doors are always open.” Snape lightly tapped his wand on the frame and the portrait swung open. Once Danny walked through, the wall closed behind him. Snape did not follow the boy inside, leaving him to his own devices, he turned back from whence he came.

Danny found the room to be rather cozy inside. It wasn't overly large as his room in Vlad's mansion, but still a reasonable size to be comfortable for one occupant. It kept with the Slytherin color theme as the decorations and furniture were accented with emerald and polished silver and the room was lit by a green candlelight. Seeing that his trunk was placed at the foot of the bed, Danny promptly threw himself at the puffy blankets. Danny heard a slight crumple as he rolled onto his back. Reaching his pillow, he pulled out a sheet of parchment from underneath his head.

_**I hope that you found the room to your satisfaction. I was able to arrange with the headmaster for you to have a private dorm. If it is not to your liking, I will see to it that it be changed. If you need me for anything (and I mean anything) my quarters is across the hall from your Head of House. I was also able to pull some strings, you will see that attached to the end of this note is a pass. Don’t misplace it. It will grant you unlimited access to the otherwise restricted astronomy tower. I trust that you will use it responsibly. I will see you tomorrow morning.** _

_**Good night, Little Badger, and sleep well,** _

_**Vlad** _

Danny smiled fondly at the letter. Leave it to Vlad to hook him up with his own room and special privileges.

Getting up from the bed, Danny unpacked his luggage. He placed his school books on the shelves and his folded clothes and robes were packed away into the drawer and closet. Once he was finished settling in, he went out to look for Draco.

He searched the Common room first and found the person in question comfortably lounging on the armchair in front of the fireplace. “Hey Draco, can I ask you a question?”

“You may.”

“Do you know where our owls are? Mine wasn't in the dorm.”

“It should be with the other owls in the owlery.”

“Okay, thanks!” Danny headed out the door but paused mid step.

Draco watched him for a minute before raising a brow. “Do you want me to show you the way there?” Draco offered knowingly.

“That would be nice, yes.” Danny laughed sheepishly as he scratched his cheek in embarrassment.

**-PotC-**

“The owlery will be up those stairs.” Draco pointed Danny to a staircase at the end.

“Thanks a lot for your help, Draco.”

“Anytime. You remember your way back to the dorms right?”

“I do, feel free to head back without me.”

“I will do that then. Good night and I will see you tomorrow morning.” Only when Draco saw Danny climb up the steps did he return to the Common room.

Blaise, Pansy, and Theodore confronted Draco as soon as they knew that he was alone. Already knowing what they wanted, Draco crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall.

“Well, what is it? I assume you all have something you want to say with you waiting out here for me. Make it quick since I want to retire early for the night.” Draco snapped.

“Draco, why are you going out of your way being nice to the transfer?” Blaise was the first to ask.

"He's adopted," Theodore added in his own input.

"For all we know, he could be a Mudblood!" Pansy finished with distaste.

Draco smirked, “Trust me for now, there’s more to him than meets the eye and I intend to find out what. Besides, why would a Masters adopt a mere nobody as his heir? There has to be something special about him.”

Draco started walking out of the room as he continued with his explanation, “I may have missed my chance with Harry Potter but I won't make the same mistake this time.” He stopped at the door and gave the group a stern glare, “Be civil towards him for now, you don't have to act like best mates, just enough so that he will need to rely on me. I want him to feel indebted to me. I will let you know if anything changes.”

“Fine.” They all agreed, although reluctant they were somewhat satisfied with Draco’s reasonings.

"Good," Draco said and closed the door, leaving the others to contemplate what this year would have in store for them.

**-PotC-**

Danny was quick to find his owl and proceeded to lavish Zaqar with attention. Relieved to know that his beloved bird was safe, he returned to his room. Before Danny turned in for the night, he took out his wand polishing kit he had gotten from Vlad several days back. He gingerly polished his wand with care. Now that he was finally at Hogwarts, he wanted to keep his wand in top shape and performance knowing that he will be using it a lot more now. While unlikely, it wouldn't due for his wand to falter during a dire situation because he neglected to take proper care of his wand. Gingerly placing the gleaming wood back into its holder, he turned off the lights.

**-PotC-**

Down in the dungeons, Vlad entered the old classroom that would become his new lab. Setting his trunk onto the teacher’s desk, he unclasped it and pulled out a portable ghost portal. Flying inside, he returned to his laboratory at his mansion and he ordered the ghost servants to help him set up his new lab in Hogwarts. They flew back and forth through the Ghost Zone bringing in more things. He is finished with an almost exact replica of the lab in record time and the ghosts servants are dismissed to the ghost zone.

There was a knock at the door. “Enter.”

Headmaster Dumbledore steps in and he takes a moment to appreciate Vlad’s work. “I see you are already settled in. Are you aware that muggle electronic devices are unable to work properly at Hogwarts.”

"I am aware and there won't be a problem. All of my equipment runs on ectoplasm, a much more reliable source of energy." Vlad reassured Dumbledore in a slight offense. That would have been a fool's errand to set up an entire lab only to have nothing work. What kind of idiot did he take him for?

“It is good to hear that you have that matter resolved. Do you have any questions you would like to ask before I leave?”

“Just one thing. Will I have any more uninvited guests frequenting a visit here? I would prefer that my lab be private.”

“I assure you, not a soul but myself is aware of the location of your lab. I have even placed a charm so that no one will accidentally find this room unless they are aware of what they are looking for. If you want young Daniel to come, all you have to do is inform him of the location.”

“And what of you?” Vlad asked, not hiding the suspicion in his tone.

The headmaster laughed, “You will not see me here unless I am otherwise needed. Or in any case that this lab poses a danger to the student body, but that is an unneeded concern, yes?" Dumbledore asked Vlad, that annoying twinkle in his eye making itself known to Vlad.

" _Oh yes_ , no students will be harmed." There was an unspoken ‘yet' left hanging. Vlad wasn't planning on actively going out of his way to harm the students. Now if they snooped in his matters, there will be no promises of the future state of their health. Not that the Headmaster needed to know of this.

“I trust you will be reasonable. Goodnight Professor.”

**-PotC-**

Once the old coot was out of his hair, Vlad had one last priority he needed to address, he had an appointment with a certain ghost.

Professor Binns was in his office when he felt an ominous presence. He turned to see Vlad fixing him with a sinister grin.

“Ah, Professor Masters, how may I help you?”

"There _is_ something you can do for me." Vlad started slowly. As the ghost relaxed, Binns soon found himself pinned to the wall. To his utter shock, the hostile professor was somehow able to touch him. Vlad had transformed into Plasmius, his ghostly form allowing him the ability to grasp the other specter. "I want you to request that I aid you in your class as a co-teacher."

“B-but I don't need any help.” Binns stuttered, confused at the odd request.

"Let me make things more _clear_ for you." Plasmius pressed harder on the ghost's throat, a menacing pink ecto-ball charging on his other hand, the flying sparks burning the trapped ghost slightly. "Either you agree, or the Headmaster will have to find a new professor for History of Magic, due to his resident ghost having _ceased_ its existence. Poor Professor Binns: Tragically disappeared onto the next life." Vlad brought the ecto-ball closer to the ghost's face, causing the energy to glow brighter in silent threat of its growing heat. The poor ghost whimpered in fear, nodding his head frantically.  


Vlad smiled at his victory, “Excellent.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note:
> 
> Sorry for the delay but this was a monster of a chapter to write. I had to rewrite it several times till I was satisfied. Even then I am still iffy about this chapter. Hopefully, the wait did not cause anybody to think that I had dropped this. Someone asked me how long I was planning on making this crossover. For now, by looking at my rough outline, it’s going to be fairly decent in length with about 40 chapters in total. No guarantees though, I may change it if I deem it will flow better for the story.
> 
> Also, another reason that I have not been updating recently was that I was put off from writing due to someone copying and pasting my story on another website without my permission. It has come to my attention that ‘Phantom of the Chamber' was posted on the website called doc truyen along with several other Danny Phantom crossovers without any of the author's knowledge. If my story is found on a site other than the ones listed on my profile, it was not placed there by me or had my consent. Please, if you really want to add my story to your site, ask for my permission first.
> 
> Till next time~


	18. Chapter 17: Haunting Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally back with another chapter! I took a break to get settled in with my first semester of college but then I got slammed with so many essays that I kind of lost my motivation to write for a while. Now I'm fired up and ready to write again.

_Previously:  
Draco smirked, “Trust me for now, there’s more to him than meets the eye and I intend to find out what. Besides, why would a Masters adopt a mere nobody as his heir? There has to be something special about him.” _

**-PotC-**

Danny couldn’t see where he was going. Inky darkness was all that surrounded him as he walked in a seemingly random direction. A low hum droned, breaking the hanging silence. Danny glanced around to find the source of the noise, but it was impossible for him to tell. He couldn’t pinpoint the exact direction it came from as the sound seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. 

Deciding to ignore the humming sound for now, he continued on his way. It got slightly brighter the farther he went, he could now see that he was in some sort of tunnel. A metallic clank echoed with every step he took, whatever he was in must be man-made. 

Blindly groping around for his surroundings, he settled his palm against what he thought was a wall. He breathed a small sigh of relief and relaxed as he found his bearing and leaned his weight against it. His hand felt a slight shift beneath it and the distinct CLK made him tense with dread. 

His unease heightened when the continuous humming suddenly switched to a high-pitched whine, quickly building in intensity.

Before he could even make a move to run, there was a flash of blinding light, screams tore from his throat, then a rush of pain, pain, pain, painpainpainPainPainPainPAINPAIN **PAINPAINPAINPAIN!**

**-PotC-**

Danny pulled himself up with a gasp. Rapidly blinking his eyes in an effort to comfort his fear-raddled mind, he tried to recognize where he was. His frantic beating heart finally calmed when he saw that he wasn't trapped in the metal portal anymore. Seeing the room he was in, he finally registered where he was: in the bedroom of his Hogwarts dorm. 

Releasing his vice grip hold on his covers, he reached a trembling hand to his head and let out a shaky breath. “Get a hold of yourself, it was just a nightmare. I’m not trapped in the Ghost portal anymore.” 

He shivered as he could still vividly recall the immense pain he felt when the volts of electricity coursed through his body. It was a memory of the moment when he half-killed himself and the day he lost everything. _What a great way to start the first day of class._

 _ **“You’re mine now, Ghost-child!”**_ The ever-annoying clock violently shook on the bedside dresser, screaming loudly for his attention.

“Again? I swear I left it behind! This is going to get old soon...” He glared at the screeching clock on his desk, he was so not in the mood to deal with Vlad’s pranks today.

Deciding to go for a more permanent solution to get rid of the clock and vent out his current stress, he pointed a finger at the device and blew it to bits with a well-aimed ectobeam. He sighed tiredly at the scorch mark, the dark splotch was a clearly noticeable contrast to the reddish-brown mahogany wood, knowing that it will most likely be a permanent addition to his desk. _“Freakin Vlad…”_

He reasoned that he might as well get out of bed and dressed since there's no way he would be getting any more sleep. He didn’t want to risk another nightmare, not with the dreaded memory of the accident lingering in his mind. He pulled himself out of bed, making sure to take his sweet time. 

Surprisingly, the monotony of his morning routine did wonders on calming him down. By the time he left his room, his mood was mildly uplifted and he had a slight smile on his face. He had to make sure there was no trace on his expression to give away the fact that he just had a nightmare. Danny knew that with the slightest slip, Vlad would be onto him instantly and would kick into overprotective father mode.

Danny walked out of the common room and saw a figure waiting for him. No prize for guessing who it was.

“Are you ready for the first day of class, Daniel?” His father was proudly dressed in the green and gold teaching robes he had bought from Madam Malkin’s.

Danny gave him an unimpressed look. “Did you sneak into my room last night?” 

Not abashed at all, the older halfa gave a large grin. “I believe I mentioned specifically that I will resume my early morning paybacks once you were settled in.” He replied smugly.

“How did you even get in? Wait, you have intangibility... Forget I even asked.” Danny grumbled and made a move to walk away.

“For your information, I used the door this time,” Vlad called, causing Danny to pause in his step.

“Wait, the _Vlad Masters_ actually used the door for once?” Danny said incredulously. He laughed, then frowned. “I thought I set a password on the door.” 

“ _Jazz._ ” Vlad simply stated.

“Wha- How did you know!?” Danny jolted back, afraid that Vlad somehow managed to become a mind reader overnight.

“If it's anything like the passwords you use for your laptop at home, it is fairly easy to guess. Seriously Daniel, _cujo8u_?”

Danny crossed his arms with a frown. “It’s funny. Besides, you’re one to talk Mr. _MaddieMasters_ for his work computer. By the way, _eww_.” Danny shuddered to emphasize his point.

Vlad actually had the decency to blush. “I will have you know my personal computer is much more secure.”

Danny gave Vlad a deadpan expression, “Let me guess, _DanielMasters_?”

.  
.  
.

They stared at each other for a moment. Without a word, Vlad turned sharply on his heels and stalked out.

“Hey! Did I get it right?” Danny called after him, only to cause the man to angrily quicken his pace. The younger halfa dissolved into laughter. Another point for him on the Danny VS Vlad PWNAGE board.

This was the scene Draco walked into as he made his way to breakfast: Danny leaning himself up against the wall as he laughed hysterically with not another person in sight. 

“Did I miss something?”

**-PotC-**

Since they were heading to the same place anyway, Danny and Draco walked through the dungeons together and up the stone staircase to the Great Hall. Danny caught a glimpse of a familiar trio heading in their direction. “Can you go on ahead? I will meet you there later.” 

“Sure, I will save you a seat.”

“Thanks.” Draco simply grunted and headed inside the door. 

Danny didn’t have to wait long before Hermione spotted him, Harry and Ron soon followed her.

Danny gave a friendly smile to the group and a nod of greeting to Hermione. He was not surprised to see that she was carrying a copy of their assigned book for DADA, _Voyages with Vampires_ , most likely to read during breakfast. “I didn’t see you guys at the Sorting, but I’m glad you were able to make it.”

“Yeah, it’s been kind of hectic,” Harry replied.

Ron was strangely silent, his friends turned to see what was wrong. He was staring holes at Danny’s uniform, or the green and silver colors to be more exact.

“So, you’re a Slytherin,” Ron stated flatly with a frown of distaste.

“That’s what the hat decided was best. Vlad seemed pretty happy about it though.” The halfa shrugged. “You're not going to stop hanging out with me just because I'm a Slytherin right?” Danny asked tentatively, remembering Harry and Ron’s negative opinion of the House. 

“O-of course not!” Harry and Hermione instantly exclaimed, though Harry seemed less sure than Hermione, who was more offended by the question. 

“As long as you are not friends with Malfoy, you're fine,” Ron said hotly.

“What’s with you guys and Draco?”

“We just never got along since our first meeting,” Harry said vaguely.

“Wait did you just call him Draco? You’re already on a first name basis with that snake!” Ron almost shouted. Hermione was the only one who wasn’t surprised by the revelation as she saw their interaction during the Sorting.

“Well, he’s not that bad once you get to know him. Yeah, his attitude could use some work but if you look past it, he can be pretty considerate.” Ron looked at Danny as though he was mental.

“Draco-Considerate? Not as likely as Snape becoming charitable.” Harry scoffed darkly. Ron nodded in agreement.

Not liking where this was heading, Danny decided to end the conversation before things escalated any further. “Think what you will but he really isn’t all that bad. He’s been kindly showing me the ropes around here. You guys should give him a chance.” Danny left the trio with that.

The Gryffindors watched the Slytherin leave. “Well it was nice knowing him but he’s a lost cause,” Ron said mournfully. “He’s practically one of them now. The snakes tainted him.” Hermione jabbed Ron harshly in the ribs with her elbow. 

“Bloody hell!” Ron yelped, rubbing the sore spot, “What was that for?”

“You deserve it.” She sniffed, walking ahead of them to the Great Hall. Harry simply shrugged at Ron and followed after her.

“Are you still mad about the flying car?”

**-PotC-**

Danny roughly sat down in his seat at the Slytherin table, Draco raised an eyebrow at his sudden change in attitude but luckily, he didn’t feel the need to comment on it. 

After the meeting with the three Gryffindors, Danny’s foul mood from the earlier nightmare returned. Looking back, he probably ruined the tentative friendship he had with them. Today really wasn’t his day.

 _ **That's what you deserve for having expectations.**_

Danny chose to ignore the voice, refusing to react to the mocking taunt. He was not going to have a mental break down in the Great Hall where everyone could see. 

He found himself tracking Hermione’s path to the Gryffindor table. She found an empty seat and opened her book in front of her as soon as she sat down, it was as if she was erecting a barrier to separate herself from the rest of her housemates. Harry and Ron placed themselves next to her. 

Maybe with some effort on his part, he could salvage his friendship with the trio, but was it really worth the effort? He wasn’t so sure anymore. With Hermione, she seemed the most accepting of him. Harry appeared more guarded and unsure. And Ron...well he definitely showed his dislike for him. Biased git. 

He was willing to give another go at winning their acceptance, but ultimately decided he will not hold out high hopes of it lasting. 

It’s not like he wasn’t used to losing friends.

Danny sighed miserably and looked up at the enchanted ceiling which reflected his current mood accurately: it was a somber, cloudy grey. 

Draco looked up from his plate. “Aren’t you going to eat.” 

Danny glanced at the food in front of him. Despite the many appetizing assortments of dishes laid out, he only grabbed a single piece of toast from the pile. He wasn’t that hungry anyway; his current gloomy mood had ruined his appetite. He bit a small bite at the corner of his toast, nibbling thoughtfully at the edge.

“Had a rough night?” Draco asked, still wondering where the laughing boy from earlier went.

“You can say that,” Danny said glumly. 

Draco was having a hard time figuring the new student out. Not that he had trouble reading the other’s emotions (he displayed that openly enough). From what he gathered, the boy was constantly shifting from one emotion to the next, he would go from cheerful and friendly one minute and somber and depressed the next. It made him wonder how Danny got sorted in Slytherin if he couldn’t keep an impassive poker-face. Perhaps he was using this as a cover for something more, a distraction to deflect away from his true skills… or maybe he was overestimating the transfer. 

Either way, Draco resolved to continue studying the new student until he could uncover what the boy was hiding because if there was one thing he knew for certain, it was that Slytherins were always hiding something.

A screech called overhead, announcing the arrival of several hundred owls that descended into the Great Hall. Letters and packages dropped down from the owl’s talons to the children below. 

Danny watched the other children receive mail from their owls, he half hoped he would receive one too. His spirits rose when he caught sight of his owl flying towards him. But it wasn’t until Zaqar came closer did he see that the owl was empty-handed. 

The owl landed gracefully on the table and hopped toward him. As if sensing his owner’s depressed state, Zaqar gave a low hoot and rubbed affectionately against Danny’s hand. Danny gave a soft smile at the owl and allowed it to have the rest of his toast. 

Danny mentally scolded himself for being childish. Of course, he’s not going to have mail, he has no family or friends to talk to after what he did. Wow, wasn't that was a sobering thought.

 _ **Why would anyone give you mail?**_ Someone scoffed.

 _ **You have no friends- since you KILLED them all.**_ It laughed. With a brief pause, the speaker changed into one he could distinctly recognize.

 _ **Murderer!**_ Screamed a shrill voice of a woman. 

_**Give me back my daughter!!**_ Mrs. Manson wailed accusingly at him. Danny somehow managed to restrain himself from jumping out of his seat, silently enduring the brunt of the voices latest attack. 

After all the time that has passed, Mrs. Manson’s words were still fresh in his mind. They wouldn’t let him forget.

**-PotC-**

_Two years ago:_

_“What happened here?”_

_“Officer Kennedy.” The fireman acknowledged the policemen. “We got a call in that there was a large explosion from the Fenton building. As you can see, it caused the whole structure to collapse. Luckily, we were able to contain the damage and keep the fire from spreading.”_

_“Were there anyone inside?”_

_“We dug out five bodies, 2 adults, and 3 children.”_

_“Any survivors?”_

_“We found none so far.”_

_There was a commotion from the rubble, “We have a survivor over here!!” A fireman was carrying what seemed like a small child. The paramedics rushed over to the man, “It’s faint but he’s breathing.”_

_Officer Kennedy tipped his hat over his eyes. “Poor kid.” He murmured._

_._  
.  
. 

_Groggy eyes slowly opened, he blinked in confusion as to where he was. Was his room always this white? He felt something in his nose and lightly touching his mouth. He tried to move his arm to pull the thing away but saw that he couldn't. His arm was bound in place. It was then that Danny finally saw the light blue gown and the numerous gauze, cast, and bandages on him. He was in a hospital!_

_Why was he here?_

_The last thing he remembered was going into the basement with Sam and Tucker to see the Ghost Portal… The Portal!! It wasn’t working right so he went inside and accidentally pressed a button. It started up with him trapped in it-_

_Sam! Tucker! They were still there with him when it happened. Were they okay? Where is everyone!?_

_A door creaked open. The unexpected noise startled him, Danny stared wide-eyed as a nurse stepped in. She looked up from her clipboard and paused, she seemed surprised to see him awake but smiled kindly at him._

_“I am glad to see that you are finally up. Excuse me, I will be right back to let the doctor know you are awake. I’m sure you have plenty of questions, the doctor will be able to answer them for you when he arrives.” Without waiting for his reply, she stepped out again closing the door behind her._

_A few seconds later, he heard sounds of a scuffle from outside the door._

_“Ma’am! Ma’am! Stop, you are not allowed in there! You mustn't go in! MA’AM! Someone stop her!!”_

_The door was roughly slammed open and Mrs. Manson came barreling in. As she panted harshly at the doorway, Danny could see that her hair was in a disarray and her eyes were puffy, red, and blood-shot. Her eyes locked onto his. “Give her back!” She screamed and rushed to him, causing him to flinch back against the headboard._

_Before he could get a word in, she grabbed the collar of his hospital gown and roughly dragged him up toward her face, her sharp painted nails dug painfully into his skin drawing a pained groan from the boy. The woman ignored him, callously giving no sympathy to the now orphaned child, as she gave a harder squeeze in response._

_“How could you steal her from me!” She shouted hysterically. She gave him a firm shake, her spit splattering against his face as she continued to scream at him. “Give me back my daughter!”_

_Mr. Manson came in and tried to pry his wife away from the terrified child. She kicked out at him and refused to let go, not until she made the boy feel her agony. The spiteful and bitter woman wanted to inflict vengeance on the boy, she wanted retribution for his crime. She needed him to suffer as she could never bring herself to forgive him, the one who caused her only daughter to lose her life._

_She knew from the start that the boy was trouble, especially with his freaks of parents. If Samantha was never friends with the Fenton boy, she would still be here. She wanted him to regret his actions and never forget. After all, it was only right that she made him miserable- it was all his fault._

_As if a puppet cut from its strings, she finally let go and collapsed bonelessly on her knees. “Why did she have to die…” She moaned into her hands._

_She glared back at Danny accusingly, “It's all your fault, you murderer!” She spat, “If she wasn't with you she will still be here now. It’s not fair! Why couldn't you have died instead? WHY!!”_

**-PotC-**

“Would you look at that, Weasley got himself a Howler!” Draco’s voice snapped Danny back to reality. 

The Slytherins snickered in amusement and Danny turned to see what all the ruckus was about. It appeared that he was not the only one who was curious as the whole student body seemed to be staring at the Gryffindor table in anticipation. 

What was odd was that some of the Gryffindors who were sitting closest to the redhead were trying (and failing) to casually scoot away from the boy as fast as they could, they were leaning themselves awkwardly back as far as they could possibly go without tipping over their chair. 

The redhead in question looked as though all color had been drained out of him. An owl laid unconscious on the table, its feet sticking straight out into the air. 

Rather than being concerned about his poor owl, Ron was staring petrified at a bright, red envelope that was grasped innocently in the bird’s beak. Hermione prodded the owl as if to confirm if it was still amongst the living. Ron gesture wildly at the envelope with his finger and a round-faced boy gave him a sympathetic glance. Throughout the entire exchange, Harry was the only one who voiced the same question as to what Danny had in mind, “What’s a Howler?”

Ron didn’t answer as he was too busy watching the envelope which started to leak smoke. The round-faced boy’s eyes widened in horror and he urged Ron to hurry and open it. With unhidden dread, Ron paled and gulped audibly, with a shaky hand he grabbed the red envelope and opened it. 

In a split second, Danny stiffened as he felt everyone brace themselves for impact. A couple of the people managed to stuff their fingers into their ears before a blast of sound exploded across the hall. The entire room seemed to shake, or maybe it did, as the dust was being shaken out of the ceiling in copious quantities.

Danny somehow managed to clasp his hand over his ears as the shrill yell of an angry woman boomed and echoed off the walls, the deafening voice caused the silverware on the table to rattle. Danny was surprised that none of the glass had shattered yet!

“-STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY’D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU, I DON’T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE-”

Throughout the yells, Harry and Ron sank lower and lower into the seats, Ron’s face had turned into a crimson shade from both embarrassment and fear.

“-LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN’T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU AND HARRY COULD BOTH HAVE DIED- ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED -YOUR FATHER’S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, IT’S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE’LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME.” By the time the tirade was done, Danny's poor sensitive ears were left ringing, giving him a deep, throbbing headache. 

As its message was received and its task now finished, the howler ripped itself to shreds and burst into a small ball of flames, its ash scattering across the tabletop. With the loud shouts finally quieted, the hall fell into a noticeable silence before chatter finally resumed amongst the tables.

The Howler did a rather impressive job in cowing the two Gryffindors, but it brutalized Danny more than it did them as the howler’s voice was magnified to torturous levels. When Danny unclasped his ears, he saw his hands had a faint amount of blood smeared on it from where his ears had bled. 

Danny grimaced at the sight. Wonderful, the thing ruptured his eardrums. Granted it would heal soon for him (Thank Clockwork for his healing factor), but he will still have to suffer with it for the rest of the day. It was times like these that he hated the enhanced hearing that came with being a halfa. 

Thankfully his housemates did not notice the blood as he had subtly wiped it onto the napkin on his lap.

“About time the Golden Trio got some punishment.” Draco scoffed. “They should have been expelled for that stunt they pulled.”

“What exactly did they do?” Danny found himself asking, he was rather curious to know what the Howler was yelling about.

“You didn’t hear?” Blaise asked surprised. Danny shook his head. “Oh yeah, you weren’t in the common room when it happened.”

Pansy eagerly joined the conversation, she was always willing to gossip. “Apparently Potter and Weasley stole a flying car to get to Hogwarts!”

“I heard they crashed it into the Whomping Willow!” Theodore added.

“Professor Snape caught them trying to sneak inside. He will ensure that they get properly punished, not just let off with a simple slap on the wrist.” Draco said proudly.

“At least we can rely on Professor Snape to have our backs,” Blaise said, and everyone nodded in agreement. It became apparent to Danny that the Slytherins held a lot of respect for the Professor.

“You guys really don’t get along,” Danny remarked.

“With the Gryffindors, not at all.” Theodore agreed.

“I used to think people were over exaggerating when they described the rivalry between the Slytherins and Gryffindors.”

“Well, it wouldn’t be so bad if the Gryffindors weren’t so blatantly favored by the _Headmaster_.” Blaise acknowledged. 

“It’s so unfair how they can bend so many rules and get off the hook for just about anything!” Pansy whined.

“Especially Saint Potter,” Draco said snidely, “He and his followers act as though the rules don’t apply to them.”

“Remember last year with the House Cup?” Blaise asked the group, everyone (except Danny who was clueless to the reference) groaned in response.

“Ugh, that made me so mad when it happened!” Theodore exclaimed with frustration.

Knowing that Danny was going to ask, Draco explained to him, “Last year the Slytherins worked hard to win the House Cup. During the final feast, the Gryffindors stole it from us with their last-minute points they somehow managed to get from vague circumstances.” Danny could sympathize with the Slytherins as he would have been upset too if someone stole his hard-earned victory from under his nose.

They watched as Professor Snape headed in their direction passing out the course schedules. Danny made sure to thank the man when he was handed his schedule. Breakfast was almost over and the Slytherins were gathering their supplies to leave for their first class. 

Danny was still reading his schedule as he followed the others out, Danny barely sensed Vlad’s approach before a hand snaked out and snatched his schedule from him. Vlad scanned the sheet and returned it to Danny once he had it memorized, he gave a small pat on the boy’s shoulder and strolled away without a word. 

Danny briefly caught a sly smile on the man as he left. Why was he smiling? Danny didn’t have a clue, but he knew it wasn’t going to be anything good. Danny recognized that smile as the one Vlad wore when he was plotting something devious. However unlikely, Danny hoped that whatever his father had planned wouldn’t involve him.


End file.
